Extreme Geomagnetic Storm on Sun

World Net Daily ^ | 16th May, 2005 2:18 pm Eastern | Staff Writer

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Event measures 9 on 0-9 scale, power system, satellite disruptions likely causing possible power outages and satellite disruption, an extreme geomagnetic storm occurred yesterday that registered at the highest level on measurements of such solar activity.

Extreme geomagnetic event recorded on sun on Sunday (NOAA photo)

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo., observed the event, which measured G-5 – the highest level – on the NOAA Space Weather Scales.

"This event registered a 9 on the K-Index, which measures the maximum deviation of the Earth's magnetic field in a given three-hour period," Gayle Nelson, lead operations specialist at NOAA Space Environment Center, said in a statement. "The scale ranges from 0 to 9, with 9 being the highest. This was a significant event."

The event was forecast by NOAA as the result of a solar flare that occurred on Friday, May 13.

Possible impacts from such a geomagnetic storm include widespread power system voltage control problems with some grid systems may experience complete collapse or blackouts. Transformers may experience damage. Spacecraft operations may experience extensive surface charging, including problems with orientation, and uplink/downlink and tracking satellites. Satellite navigation may be degraded for days, and low-frequency radio navigation can be out for hours. Reports received by the NOAA Space Environment Center indicate that such impacts have been observed in the U.S., the agency says.

"We usually have something of this magnitude only about four or six times a year, so this is kind of a big event," Mowry said Florida meteorologist Larry Mowry.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

The myopic, distracted and drugged of the world fail to read the signs. When the world "leaders" are also failing to read the cosmic signs, trouble is not far off on the horizon.

Many of the world's "leaders" in business, politics, monarchy and religion think that they are masters of reading the zeitgeist and having a felling for what is going on. They often congratulate themselves and each other on their zeitgeist reading prowess. They have become smug in their conceit.

We will see whose plans prevail over the coming days and weeks.

[snarks_when_bored]

A 'geomagnetic' storm on the Sun? I don't think so. 'Heliomagnetic' would be the correct term.

[Russ7]

Could be "series". Better check on flashlight batteries.

[Neville72]

We're doomed, I say! Doomed! Doomed!

[taxed2death]

Maybe Ed Dames was right.

[Redleg Duke]

Time to take a shower.

[Blood of Tyrants]

This is obviously a result of Bush's failure to enforce the Kyoto protocols.

[joesnuffy]

I hope so ..I have some left over Y2K supplies I would like
to unload at better prices..

[Howlin]

FYI.

[bonfire]

Ahhh! That's why my Dish was cutting in and out yesterday!

[AngryJawa]

Bush's Fault....Quagmire!!!

[DannyTN]

And duct tape....just in case civilization breaks down.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Lay in stocks of lead.

[Physicist]

They have become smug in their conceit.

We will see whose plans prevail over the coming days and weeks.

During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveller came as a large and moving Torb. Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex Supplicants, they chose a new form for him--that of a Giant Sloar! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you!

[RightWhale]

It is a misnomer. One would think earth's mag field would be storming. It wobbles, the north mag pole moving over an area 500 miles across with the instantaneous pole moving 100 miles per second due to who knows what, but what a geomagnetic storm might be who knows.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From:

Stay Tuned for a STEREO View of Stormy Space Weather
05.03.05

*******************************************************

Stay Tuned for a STEREO View of Stormy Space Weather	05.03.05
The thrills! The chills! Soon you'll be able to see for the first time ever, in dazzling three dimensions … the Sun. Imagine solar prominences looping out into space for thousands of miles. Now picture a billion megaton blast of solar plasma flying toward Earth and the effect it would have on astronauts, satellites in orbit, airplanes, and power grids, which are vulnerable to such a burst. Now you're starting to see why we need a better understanding of that powerful and dynamic star. The upcoming Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory () mission will help provide the big picture by using two nearly identical spacecraft to image the Sun and track its activity in high definition 3-D. Particularly crucial will be its observations of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, the most powerful explosions in the solar system. Related to solar flares (scientists still don't really know which comes first), CMEs can pack the force of a billion megaton nuclear bombs. Image Right: Animation showing STEREO spacecraft observing a CME in 3-D. Click on image for animation or download stills and movies. Credit: NASA/Walt Feimer. "In terms of space weather forecasting, we're where weather forecasters were in the 1950s. They didn't see hurricanes until the rain clouds were right above them; in our case, we can see storms leaving the Sun but we have to make guesses and use models to figure out if and when it will impact Earth," said Dr. Michael Kaiser, Project Scientist for STEREO at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Image Left: A view of the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) instrument being built at the in Washington, DC. Credit: NRL/NASA/Chris Gunn. There's a strong fleet of satellites observing the Sun right now, but even with missions like , which images the Sun every 10 to 15 minutes, scientists still can't definitively say if a CME is coming toward Earth or traveling away from it -- for that we need to see the third dimension. "When you're trying to figure out what really makes a CME go, knowing where it is in space is crucial. At this point we don't quite know where it is, how fast it's traveling, or how one structure interacts with another," said Dr. Terry Kucera, Deputy Project Scientist for the mission. Image Right: A 3-D rendering of the Sun's corona, the wispy outer atmosphere where solar flares thrive. Click on image for animation or download stills and movies. Credit: NASA/Tom Bridgman "If you only saw stuff with one eye you lose the ability to judge perspective and depth," said Dr. Alex Young, a NASA scientist. "Basically we're looking at the Sun with one eye. With STEREO, we're finally going to have the ability to gain this extra dimension, or this depth perception we didn't have before." STEREO's spacecraft are just as unique and groundbreaking as its mission. It marks the first time that two spacecraft will launch on the same rocket, and then swing around the Moon to get into separate orbits. Once there, STEREO 'A' will fly ahead of the Earth and STEREO 'B' will fly behind it. When the solar arrays are deployed, the spacecraft will be about the length of a large school bus. Image Left: Animated preview of STEREO spacecraft. The two spacecraft will be launched on the same spacecraft in Spring 2006. Click on image for animation or download stills and movies. Credit: NASA/Chris Meaney Building two spacecraft at the same time "requires twice the amount of knowledge, but isn't that much harder with the right team," said Jim Adams, the Deputy Project Manager. Each STEREO observatory has a total of 16 instruments, all of which are still being assembled in labs throughout the world. In the summer they will all be brought to The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab for assembly and initial testing, and then to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for final testing. STEREO launches in February 2006 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Besides improving space weather forecasting and understanding for Earth systems, STEREO is also an important key to understanding the Sun's influence throughout the solar system. Image Left: This artist's concept shows a CME leaving the Sun and being buffeted by Earth's magnetic fields until it finally results in a spectacular aurora at the poles. Scientists still don't fully understand the origins and evolution of these massive storms. Credit: NASA/Walt Feimer. Here on Earth we're protected by the atmosphere and magnetic fields from the Sun's radiation. But as NASA gears up to send astronauts to the Moon and beyond, we're going to need a better understanding of the dangerous solar particles accelerated by shock waves from CMEs. One of the biggest mysteries confronting scientists: why does one CME produce a major storm and another one does not? "To some degree, we're getting knocked around and seeing bits and pieces. With STEREO, we'll get a chance to step back and see a CME from the outside in all its glory… We're not just going to see CMEs coming toward us, but we'll see how they move through the solar system," said Young. And it's going to be one amazing show. Rachel A. Weintraub NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

*****************************************************

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Another try at images...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

For images referenced at post #16 see link....

*******************************************

Another resource:

Today's Space Weather

*********************************************

Product: Report of Solar-Geophysical Activity
:Issued: 2005 May 16 2200 UTC

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I don't see any alarm on the offical sites that monitor the SUN!!!!!

Why are you hyping this like it is the END OF THE WORLD????

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes

********************************************

 

STEREO [JHU/APL]

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes program, scheduled to launch in November 2005 aboard a single Delta-7925-10L launch vehicle. This two-year mission will employ two nearly identical space-based observatories to provide the first-ever, 3-D stereoscopic images to study the nature of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs.

The STEREO mission will provide a totally new perspective on solar eruptions by imaging CMEs and background events from two observatories simultaneously. To obtain unique views of the sun, the twin observatories must be placed into a rather challenging orbit where they will be offset from one another. One observatory will be placed “ahead” of the Earth in its orbit and the other, “behind” using a series of lunar swingbys. Just as the slight offset between your eyes provides you with depth perception, this placement will allow the STEREO observatories to obtain 3-D images of the sun.

APL mission designers determined that the most efficient and cost-effective method to place the twin observatories, launched aboard a single rocket, into their respective orbits is to use lunar swingbys. This is the first time this technique has been used to manipulate orbits of more than one spacecraft. Mission designers will use the moon’s gravity to redirect the observatories to their appropriate orbits – something the launch vehicle alone can’t do.

For the first three months after launch, the observatories will fly in an orbit from a point close to Earth to one that extends just beyond the moon. STEREO Mission Operations personnel at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md., will synchronize spacecraft orbits so that about two months after launch they encounter the moon, at which time one of them is close enough to use the moon’s gravity to redirect it to a position “behind” the Earth. Approximately one month later, the second observatory will encounter the moon again and be redirected to its orbit “ahead” of Earth. When combined with data from observatories on the ground or in low-Earth orbit, STEREO’s data will allow scientists to track the buildup and lift-off of magnetic energy from the sun and the trajectory of Earth-bound CMEs in 3-D.

The two STEREO observatories will be nearly identical with selective redundancy. The spacecraft bus will be built by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md., with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center procuring the instruments. Each observatory and its instruments will be integrated at APL.

The STEREO mission consists of two solar-powered, 3-axis-stabilized spacecraft, each with a launch mass – including propellant – of approximately 620 kg. The spacecraft will communicate with the APL-based Mission Operations Center via NASA’s Deep Space Network.

The significant challenge in spacecraft design is the large number and extent of the instrument fields-of-view, coupled with the various instruments’ competing design requirements to ensure successful science observations.

The major design drivers to support the science instrument performance are a conductive outer surface for the energetic particle experiments, stringent electromagnetic compatibility and interference requirements for the radio burst tracker, and contamination control of both volatiles and particulates for the imager experiment.

The spacecraft bus consists of six operational subsystems supporting two instruments and two instrument suites. This combination provides a total of 16 instruments per observatory. The subsystems include: command and data handling; radio frequency communications; guidance and control; propulsion; power; and thermal.

Following Instruments are on board of each of the two probes:

• The Sun-Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) is a suite of remote-sensing instruments consisting of an extreme ultraviolet imager, two white-light coronagraphs, and a heliospheric imager. These instruments will study the 3-D evolution of coronal mass ejections—the most energetic eruptions on the sun and primary cause of major geomagnetic storms—from their origin at the sun’s surface through the corona and interplanetary medium to their eventual impact at Earth.
• The In situ Measurements of PArticles and CME Transients (IMPACT) investigation provides measurements of the solar wind electrons, interplanetary magnetic fields, and solar energetic particles. IMPACT comprises seven instruments including a solar wind electron analyzer, a magnetometer, and an array of particle detectors measuring the energetic ions and electrons accelerated in coronal mass ejection (CME) shocks and in solar flares. 
• The PLAsma and SupraThermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) instrument is slated to study coronal-solar wind and solar wind-heliospheric processes. PLASTIC will provide in situ plasma characteristics of protons, alpha particles and heavy ions. It will supply key diagnostic measurements of mass and charge state composition of heavy ions and will characterize the coronal mass ejection plasma from ambient solar wind plasma. 
• STEREO/WAVES (S/WAVES) is an interplanetary radio burst tracker that will trace the generation and evolution of traveling radio disturbances from the sun to Earth's orbit. A radio and plasma wave receiver, S/WAVES is both a remote-sensing and an in-situ instrument. 

   

Nation:	USA
Type / Application:	Science, Solar
Operator:	NASA
Contractors:	Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
Equipment:	SECCHI, IMPACT, PLASTIC, S/WAVES
Configuration:
Propulsion:
Lifetime:
Mass:	620 kg
Orbit:	Earth leading (#A)  or trailing (#B) solar orbit

 

Satellite	Date	LS		Launcher	Remarks:
STEREO A		CC		Delta-7925-10L	with STEREO B
STEREO B		CC		Delta-7925-10L	with STEREO A

  

Further STP (Solar Terrestrial Program) missions:

• TIMED
• STEREO
• SOLAR B
• MMS
• GEC
• MC

Source: STEREO (JHU/APL) Website

Last update: 04.01.2005
Contact: gunter.krebs@skyrocket.de
© Gunter Dirk Krebs

[js1138]

Bow down to Zuul, before it's too late. Hell is waiting...

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Is the sky falling?

[longshadow]

A 'geomagnetic' storm on the Sun? I don't think so. 'Heliomagnetic' would be the correct term.

Assuming the title is accurate, this is just another example of why WND is piss poor source for science-related news....

[Robert_Paulson2]

When the solar wind hits our magnestosphere, does it not cause us to geomagnetic storms???

Northern Lights Displays?

[Ranxerox]

Assuming the title is accurate, this is just another example of why WND is piss poor source for science-related news....

Dang! No wonder I can never understand this stuff. Judging from the first reply, I thought this was a rapture-related thread...

[hosepipe]

Well them ATOMS coming from the SUN are like billiard BALLS.. I tell ya..

Well, ya got trouble, my friend. Right here, I say trouble right here in River City Why, sure, I'm a billiard player Certainly mighty proud to say, I'm always mighty proud to say it I consider the hours I spend with a cue in my hand are golden Help you cultivate horse sense and a cool head and a keen eye Didja ever take an' try an' give an iron clad leave to yourself from a three-rail billiard shot? But just as I say it takes judgement, brains and maturity
to score in a balk-line game I say that any boob can take and shove a ball in a pocket And I call that sloth, the first big step on the road to the depths of degreda- I say, first- medicinal wine from a teaspoon, then beer from a bottle And the next thing you know your son is playin' for money in a pinchback suit and listenin' to some big out-o'-town jasper Hear him tell about horserace gamblin' Not a wholesome trottin' race, no, but a race where they set down right on the horse Like to see some stuck up jockey boy sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil, well I should say Now, folks, let me show you what I mean You got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table Pockets that mark the difference between a gentleman and a bum With a capital 'B' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool'

And all week long, your River City youth'll be fritterin' away say, your young men'll be fritterin' Fritterin' away their noontime, suppertime, choretime, too Hit the ball in the pocket Never mind gettin' dandelions pulled or the screen door patched or the beefsteak pounded Never mind pumpin' any water 'til your parents are caught with a cistern empty on a Saturday night and that's trouble Oh, ya got lots and lots o' trouble I'm thinkin' of the kids in the knickerbockers shirttails, young ones peekin' in the pool hall window after school Ya got trouble, folks, right here in River City with a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool'

Now I know all you folks are the right kind of parents I'm gonna be perfectly frank Would you like to know what kind of conversation goes on while they're loafin' around that hall They'll be tryin' out Bevo, tryin' out Cubebs,tryin' out tailor-mades like cigarette fiends And braggin' all about how they're gonna cover up a tell-tale breath with Sen-Sen Now one fine night they leave the pool hall headin' for the dance at the Armory Libertine men and scarlet women and ragtime Shameless music that'll grab your son, your daughter
into the arms of a jungle animal instinct- massteria! Friends, the idle brain is the devil's playground, trouble!

Oh, we got trouble Right here in River City Right here in River City With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool' That stands for pool We surely got troubleWe surely got trouble Right here in River City
Right here

Gotta figure out a way to keep the young ones moral after school

Mothers of River City, heed this warning before it's too late Watch for the tell-tale signs of corruption The minute your son leaves the house does he rebuckle his Nickerbockers below the knee? Is there a nicotine stain on his index finger? A dime novel hidden in the corncrib? Is he starting to memorize jokes from Cap'n Billy's Whizbang? Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like... swell? And... 'so's your old man'? Well if so, my friends...

Ya got trouble Oh, we got trouble Right here in River City Right here in River City With a capital 'T' and that rhymes with 'P' and that stands for 'pool' That stands for pool We've surely got trouble We surely got trouble Right here in River City Right here

Remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock and the Golden Rule? Oho, we got trouble We're in terrible, terrible trouble That game with the fifteen numbered balls is the devil's tool Devil's tool Yes, we've got trouble, trouble, trouble Oh, yes, we got trouble here, we got big, big trouble With a 'T'

With a capital 'T' And that rhymes with 'P' That rhymes with 'P' And that stands for pool That stands for pool

Remember my friends, listen to me,
because I pass this way but once

[Dead Corpse]

[Polyxene]

Lewis Tulley, is that you??

[backhoe]

From the Vault of Forgotten Posts:

The Sun has a Thousand Faces--- Thread 3

[righttackle44]

Can Captain Kirk get there in time?

Will it go through Florida?

[Fury]

Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RadioAstronomer]

Here is a nice page with descriptions of space weather terms:

http://www.lund.irf.se/HeliosHome/spacew9.html

Here is a page describing the scales of a geomagnetic storm:

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

Just as a fun side note. I have been to the National Space Environment Center and The National Center for Atmospheric Research many times. :-) They are within a few miles of each other.

http://www.eo.ucar.edu/what/arch1.html

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/

Also:

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/Data/index.html#models

[Red Sea Swimmer]

From another website...

My animals told me something was wrong.

The horses were lined up at the gate, asking to go into their stalls Saturday night. That is totally wrong, because they are gobbling succulent green Spring grass in the pasture, and I usually have to chase them down to get them out. Not this time. They wanted in, and that troubled me.

Then my Lab Retrievers told me they didn't want to be out for the night. They went into their kennel and looked at me, telling me they wanted to stay there. That is very unusual. I closed their gate and they retired to their den. Something was up!

Normally, when my animals tell me these things, it means they detect an earthquake coming, and that is what I thought they sensed. Wrong. What they sensed was a solar storm flare about to hit earth.

At 3:00 AM PDT Sunday, my power went out as I was watching a movie. My house was totally dark, but I saw a glow outside, so I walked out on my bedroom balcony and saw a huge fireball east of Eagle Point, where I live here in Oregon. It lit up the whole sky, then it gradually died down to nothing.

What happened was that a "power glitch" caused the Eagle Point power substation to blow up! We were without power most of Sunday as repairs were made.

My animals never lie, but I am often at a loss to interpret what they are trying to tell me. Clearly, these solar flares are not harmless to life on this planet.

Carl F. Worden

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks....

[MikeD]

Woo-hoo! The Clean Room on the first floor of Building 23 at APL!!!

I saw STEREO in the clean room when I was working on New Horizons. The "bunny suits" you see the guys wearing in the above picture are *much* more comfortable than the ones like John Kerry was caught wearing. They breathe a lot more, so you feel 10-15 degrees cooler.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFL!

[Dad yer funny]

snarks , I can count on yer "take"

[Russ7]

I have enough duct tape....I'm loading up on CHOCOLATE bars.....Hersey's Semi-Sweet.

[snarks_when_bored]

snarks , I can count on yer "take"

Dad yer funny! (grin)