Clapway: coronal mass ejection

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Solar Storm hit Earth this weekend - http://clapway.com/2015/06/28/solar-storm-hit-earth-this-weekend789/

Solar Storm sounds like something out of a Science fiction movie

This weekend, a solar storm was expected to hit Earth and did, with a coronal mass ejection released by the Sun on Thursday. The ejection was projected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and perhaps continue to have effects until today. This report was announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

What effect does solar storm have on us?

As soon as the solar storm arrived to the planet, one of the first noticeable things about its presence was the Northern Lights being seen further south in the globe than usual. A news report on the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights can be seen here. But supposedly, if the skies were clear for you yesterday evening, you had a chance to see some of the lights in addition to the upcoming event on Tuesday night: Venus and Jupiter’s planetary conjunction. It sure is a busy week in cool space phenomena.

Solar storm messing with my internet gear!

If the solar storm were massive enough, it could mess up some electricity supplies and take out some transformers, as evidenced by the Quebec blackout in March 1989 from a massive solar storm. To help prepare for the storms, grids are strengthened to take the anomalies caused by the storms which can make weird things happen in the network. So don’t be surprised if your electric went a little wonky. The weaker storm that hit earlier in the week may have messed with the frequency.

A little collaboration doesn’t hurt

Efforts are made between local electricity companies and the Space Weather Prediction Center to prep for solar storms and be given warning and estimation of the arrival of the storms by the latter. However, another Quebec blackout is unlikely, which is fortunate- replacing the number of transformers destroyed that day wouldn’t be a quick and easy job.

So, people who weren’t be able to afford to go near the Arctic Circle to see the Northern Lights got their chance to see it in the Southern States yesterday. Time will tell what other space events will happen this week.

Want your kids to be as interested in space as you are? Point them to the Space Scouts Summer Adventure, reviewed below.

Solar Storm hit Earth this weekend

Friday, June 12, 2015

DSCOVR Satellite to Protect Earth’s Power and Comms From Solar Eruptions - http://clapway.com/2015/06/12/space-buoy-satellite-to-protect-earths-power-and-comms-from-solar-eruptions-789/

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) will begin monitoring the sun next month and providing valuable warnings about solar eruptions. Solar eruptions, or coronal mass ejections, can damage global positioning systems, communication networks, and even interfere with power grids. DSCOVR will be perhaps the most important part of a system the US Space Weather Prediction will use to alert power companies, airlines, and cell phone companies, as well as other affected industries and parts of the government.

What are coronal mass ejections?

Coronal mass ejections are explosions of magnetic fields and plasma from the sun. They get their name from the Sun’s “crown” of plasma, and hundreds of them happen every year, depending on the sunspot cycle. Very few of them are aimed at us. Yet, the ones that are could have some very adverse effects on the aforementioned industries, as well as shoot scientists or passengers on flights near the poles with an unhealthy dose of radiation.

How will the system work?

Around a month from now, instrument checks on the satellite will be completed. The satellite will then orbit at Lagrange Point 1, a place where Earth’s gravity and the sun’s cancel each other out to keep the satellite from falling in either direction. Once the space buoy is in orbit, we will have the benefit of knowing the composition of the next coronal mass ejection bound for Earth. The satellite will detect eruptions’ compositions, sometimes even getting hit by them. The warning will give people on Earth half an hour to one hour’s notice, the data being sent to the Space Weather Prediction center. DSCOVR will also allow scientists to predict where and when the worst solar weather will be. Hopefully, these efforts should provide enough time to take preventative action and save networks and power grids, as well as get people out of the way of harmful radiation.

People today are more susceptible to poor space weather.

Due to our reliance on power grids, cell phones, GPS systems and the like, we are more vulnerable than ever to solar eruptions. It has been estimated that a solar eruption as bad as the 1859 Carrington Event, which then caused telegraph line failures, would now be responsible for one to two trillion dollars’ worth of damage and four to ten years’ repairs. A system like the DSCOVR space buoy will be a valuable tool in saving multi-billion dollar industries and keeping our daily lives from being disrupted by space weather.

If you want to see another interesting alarm system, check out this clock that wakes you up with the smell of money.

DSCOVR Satellite to Protect Earth’s Power and Comms From Solar Eruptions