Posted on 04/05/2022 4:37:56 AM PDT by blam
A solar storm will sweep across the Earth Wednesday night, raising prospects of dazzling Northern Lights visible as far south as Chicago while prompting airlines and electric-grid operators to step up monitoring of the potentially damaging geomagnetic activity.
Solar eruptions—called coronal mass ejections—burst from the sun in two waves Monday and are building up enough energy to potentially become a level 3 geomagnetic storm when it hits, according to Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist with the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center.
Solar storms, like hurricanes, are ranked on a five-step scale, with one being the weakest and five the strongest. Researchers won’t exactly know this storm’s strength until it reaches a monitoring satellite about 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth, at that point the waves will be about 90 minutes away, and the forecast could be updated.
A G3 storm can trigger false alarms for protection devices in power grids, create drag on low-orbiting satellites and disrupt high-frequency radio traffic. In early February, Space X lost 40 Starlink satellites when they were launched into a geomagnetic storm. Airlines will have to monitor radiation levels, which could cause them to re-route polar routes. The storms could also interfere with birds, which sometimes causes havoc for pigeon racing, Steenburgh said.
Electric grids, for the most part, “won’t get jazzed up about a G3,” he said.
The sun goes through a 22-year cycle where it produces a lot of sunspots–the source of many storms–and then very few. It is currently moving toward the peak of its cycle. The sunspot region that caused the coming storms is actually shifting to the back of the sun now. But another area currently not visible did spark a large blast into space in the last day that was directed away from Earth.
“There is more activity working its way around,” Steenburgh said. “We are keeping an eye on things — this is one of many to come.”
And, as usual, it’s going to be overcast and rainy.
ARGH!!!!!!!!
Shut it down.
Shut it all down.
Hard.
Nip it in the bud.
A solar storm will sweep across the Earth Wednesday night,
*********
Hope its straw isn’t going to give Earth a
good scraping while is doing its sweeping.
OMG! Not the pigeon racing!
More importantly, will this effect The Master's, scheduled to start Thursday morning?
Oh, NO. Oh, NO.
another “coronal mass ejection”
Head Shake.
Haven’t been counting but this is what the 2nd or 3rd this year alone? Probably a dozen in the last 5 years and I haven’t even got a good N Lights show down here in S Indiana.
I remember the spectacular Aurora Borealis shows in the 90s we had and I think there was barely a mention of them coming up and I don’t recall any scary warnings. That one had to be big.
And remember. Man made CO2 is what controls the entire climate....
Ruh Roh! We have an open mike jam scheduled for Wed night. Maybe I should take my acoustic guitar................
As long as it happens at night, we’re safe.
Gee, so the Sun can affect our planetary environment. I wonder if it can affect the climate? Surely we need new laws to control the actions of the Sun, and overturn physics and planetary mechanics, because Green!
Gee, so the Sun can affect our planetary environment.
We should each and all carry a mattress to the top of a hill, and stand together to block the sun’s rays from hitting the ground. I know that will take a lot of effort and it will have a huge effect. We will all feel better for it.
It seems the sun has been having a lot of trouble with premature ejections lately.
Thanks blam.
...according to Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist with the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center... Electric grids, for the most part, “won’t get jazzed up about a G3,” he said.
Re-Launching the PING ME WHEN THE INTERNET GOES DOWN Ping list This used to be kept by somebody else here but I can't find him or her.
If the actual owner of this ping list replies, I will happily relinquish the responsibility.
If anyone wants on or off the list, kindly FReepmail me. Thanks!
Geomagnetic Storm Watch Added
April 4, 2022 @ 19:30 UTC
A faint coronal mass ejection (CME) was produced by a filament eruption in the southwest quadrant on April 3rd. NOAA/SWPC predict a possible Earth passage on April 6th. A minor (G1) geomagnetic storm watch will be in effect within the next 48-72 hours.
Does night matter. How long does it take a CME to travel from sun to earth? Does it travel through the atmosphere, or around the earth (affected by the gravitational pull?) and reach the dark side?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
