Solar storm heading our way

August 4, 2011 By Nancy Atkinson

Solar storm heading our way

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This plot shows 3-days of 5-minute solar x-ray flux values measured on the SWPC primary GOES satellite. Credit: NOAA/SWPC

Early yesterday, (Aug 3, 2011) two active regions on the Sun, sunspot 1261 and 1263 unleashed solar flares, which was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The video shows an M6 class flare from 1261 in a couple of different wavelengths. SolarstormWatch, a citizen science project through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England predicts the solar storm from the larger flare to reach Earth at 15:00 UTC on August 5, 2011, and also predict direct hit on Earth.

Solar storms are a concern if they hit Earth directly since under the right conditions, they can create extra electrical currents in Earth’s magnetosphere. The electrical power grid is vulnerable to any extra currents, which can infiltrate high-voltage transmission lines, causing transformers to overheat and possibly burn out.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

Check SpaceWeather.com and the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center for more information.

Source: Universe Today

4.2 /5 (6 votes)  

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LKD
Aug 04, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
What effect will this have on the auroras? Will the visibility come far enough south that some of the people in North America could see them without a long trip to Canada?
omatumr
Aug 04, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (7)
Neutron repulsion [1] controls solar energy (SE), wind, eruptions, and Earth's climate:

a.) Pulsar core emits neutrons:

Pulsar => Neutron and ~12 MeV

b.) Free neutrons decay to H-atoms

Neutron => H-atom and 0.782 MeV

c.) H-atoms fuse to He

4 H => He-4 and 27 MeV

d.) H, He accumulate in photosphere and depart in solar wind

Information about the Sun - Earth's heat source - has been misrepresented [2,3] since a secret 1971 visit of Henry Kissinger to China to save the world from the threat of nuclear warfare followed by Nixon's Jan 1972 decision to cancel Apollo missions [4]

1. "Neutron Repulsion", The APEIRON Journal, in press, 19 pages (2011):

http://arxiv.org/...2.1499v1

2. "Super-fluidity in the solar interior: Implications for solar eruptions and climate"

http://arxiv.org/.../0501441

3. "Earth's Heat Source - The Sun"

http://arxiv.org/pdf/0905.0704

4. "No More Dreams, Mr. President"

http://claudelafl...ams.html
omatumr
Aug 04, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (7)
Eleven months later, I was sad when I heard that Nixon had told Apollo 17 astronauts: This may be the last time in this century that men will walk on the Moon" [4]
ethergear
Aug 05, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
Omatumr, physorg is unique in attracting your type of commentary.
Rank 4.2 /5 (6 votes)
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