Biggest solar storm in years races toward Earth

[JackLuis]

http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201203/ca7e1c2a485bfdcd3b4f1abd5e6d7b90.jpg

Oh crap!

WASHINGTON — Earth's magnetic field is about to be shaken like a snow globe by the largest solar storm in five years.

After hurtling through space for a day and a half, a massive cloud of charged particles is due to arrive early Thursday and could disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services, especially in northern areas. But the same blast could also paint colorful auroras farther from the poles than normal.

Scientists say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare earlier in the week, is growing as it races outward from the sun, expanding like a giant soap bubble. When it strikes early Thursday, the particles will be moving at 4 million mph.

Hang on to your snowflakes children!

 

[HeyAll]

Anyone ever watch that movie Knowing?

 

[3113]

Good time to get a tan!

 

[LucyH]

Note to self: save work often.

 

[TxRad]

Note to self: Move backup drive to lead box for safe keeping.

Note to self: increase tanning lotion to pf 2000

Note to self: don't look directly at the blast.

Note to self: uh.... hey self, wake up.....

 

[Handley_Page]

http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201203/ca7e1c2a485bfdcd3b4f1abd5e6d7b90.jpg

Oh crap!

Hang on to your snowflakes children!

It's going to disturb a bit of electronics.
Last time there was a big'un, the million-quids-worth Telephone exchange at the big Hospital fell over and turned up it's tootsies.
We all had a good laugh about that (we sparkies, that is).

 

[3113]

Oh, come on! Why worry? What could possib

 

[Tyro999]

When it struck "early Thursday morning" [5:00 AM ET-US according to the morning news on Channel 5 here in DC {which I happened to be watching the 5 am version of}] nothing was going on, and nothing went on after that. Cable TV was fine, Internet was fine, no one seemed to be having cell phone problems when I went out later, didn't see any car crashes resulting from GPS crashes, etc.

This was a large storm only because we've been in the lower half of the sunspot cycle for a few years and are climbing up the cycle again. So it was large compared to what we've been having for the last few years, but not quite a "Death of the Earth and all it Contains" event.

Remember, it's sweeps month, so all the TV news shows are cranking up their blood and gore and investigative reports coverage trying to show up well in the sweeps. Lotta ad $$$$$$s riding on how well they scare us.

 

[JackLuis]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/space-storm.jpg

Space storm fizzles on arrival

A space weather storm that was forecast to be the strongest in five years has fizzled out and ended up causing no impact to power grids or modern navigation systems, US experts said on Thursday.

A series of eruptions on the Sun this week sent radiation and solar plasma hurtling toward Earth at high speeds but in the end, the geomagnetic storm registered the lowest level, G1, on a five-step scale.

“Our forecasters really struggled with this one,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Joseph Kunches, comparing the bungled forecast to watching a pitcher toss a baseball but knowing nothing else until it reaches the catcher.

“We missed the spin on the ball,” said Kunches.

Spin on the ball? This is science not cricket.

 

[trysail]

http://www.spaceweather.com/

A widely-reported CME produced by an X5-flare from sunspot AR1429 hit our planet's magnetic field on March 8th. The impact was weaker than expected, producing only a mild geomagnetic storm. Power grids and other sun-sensitive technologies were unaffected. Update: As March 9th unfolds, conditions in the wake of the CME are becoming favorable for stronger geomagnetic storming. These auroras appeared over Faskrudsfjordur, Iceland:

http://www.spaceweather.com/images2012/09mar12/aftershock_strip.jpg​

 

[trysail]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html

By Bill Chappell

...Thanks to advances in science and technology, we're very good at detecting the ebbs and flows of the sun's 11-year activity cycle. But much of our communications and energy technology can also be devastated by the effects of a massive solar storm.

The worst-case scenario of a huge solar storm leaving "millions of people around the world without electricity, running water or phone service" isn't a matter of sci-fi conjecture — it's a precise possibility raised by U.S. space and emergency officials, as Jon Hamilton reported in 2010.

In the government exercise, officials from the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency looked at how our systems might respond to a solar storm of a magnitude like those that struck the Earth in 1921 and 1859 — events that, as Jon reported, "can release as much energy as 1 billion hydrogen bombs."

Here's what they saw in their projection models:

• It would start with radio and GPS signals being disrupted.
• 10-20 minutes later, most satellites that link phones, computers and TVs are knocked out.
• One day later, the solar storm overloads high voltage power lines, destroying transformers.
• The effects of what Jon called "a sort of solar Katrina" would be felt most dramatically in northern hemispheres.

As for what you might do to prepare for a potential solar calamity, FEMA's Craig Fugate recommended the standard emergency kit of water, food and first-aid supplies.

"If you've got your family disaster plan together, you've taken the steps," Fugate said, "whether it be a space storm, whether it be a system failure, whether it be another natural hazard that knocks the power out."

To clarify, those are the possibilities if we experience a category-5 solar storm. For comparison purposes, this week's solar storm has been estimated to have a rating above 1 (minor) and spiking into 3 (strong).

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...-on-earth-but-more-are-sure-to-come-nasa-says