Space weather expert has ominous forecast

[Geee]

LATimes:

A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.

This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England.

Much of the planet's electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built to withstand these periodic geomagnetic storms. But the world is still not prepared for a truly damaging solar storm, Hapgood argues in a recent commentary published in the journal Nature.

Hapgood talked with The Times about the potential effects of such a storm and how the world should prepare for it.

What exactly is a solar storm?

I find that's hard to answer. The term "solar storm" has crept into our usage, but nobody has defined what it means. Whether a "solar storm" is happening on the sun or is referring to the effect on the Earth depends on who's talking.

I prefer "space weather," because it focuses our attention on the phenomena in space that travel from the sun to the Earth.

People often talk about solar flares and solar storms in the same breath. What's the difference?

Solar flares mainly emit X-rays — we also get radio waves from these things, and white light in the brightest of flares. They all travel at the same speed as light, so it takes eight minutes to arrive. There are some effects from flares, such as radio interference from the radio bursts.

But that's a pretty small-beer thing. The big thing is the geomagnetic storms [on Earth] that affect the power grid, and that's caused by the coronal mass ejections [from the sun].

Coronal mass ejections are caused when the magnetic field in the sun's atmosphere gets disrupted and then the plasma, the sun's hot ionized gas, erupts and send charged particles into space. Think of it like a hurricane — is it headed toward us or not headed toward us? If we're lucky, it misses us.

[RandyM]

The next progressive religion: Solar Warming.

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Just watched a PBS special about the sun the other day on - wait for it, wait for it, wait, wait... - yep, PBS!

 

It was titled “Secrets of the Sun,” airing Wednesday, April 25, at 9 PM. and it was about the SUN - of all things - and its mysteries.

 

The above link can be found at the Scientific American's article -

What Gives Solar Superstorms Their Power? [Video] - containing an emedded video to the aforementioned PBS Nova episode (click to play).

 

This particular Nova episode is one of the most memorable in my lifetime.

 

What is mentioned is that there are a handfull of 150kW transformer manufacturers in the world. It takes some 6 mo to produce one of those capacity transformer. If a CME takes out no less than 50% of such rated transformers - the overwhelming majority of lesser rated capacity transformers being surfeit relegated to slag - the money quote "we'll be shooting squirrels and chopping wood in our backyards - just to survive - for a very long time."

 

P.S. if any of you come across cool, informative and perhaps - drool - technical 'stuff' about the Sun stuff that perhaps only astrophysicists might comprehend, I'd tell other people you were 'cool' if you'd be so kind to 'ping' me on that.

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dr_lew @ FR was so compelled to state that:

 

I feel moved once again to report the apprehensions of the learned doctors of the Academy of Lagado, as reported by Lemuel Gulliver:

 

Their Apprehensions arise from several Changes they dread in the Celestial Bodies. For Instance; that the Earth by the continual Approaches of the Sun towards it, must in Course of Time be absorbed or swallowed up. That the Face of the Sun will by Degrees be encrusted with its own Effluvia, and give no more Light to the World. That, the Earth very narrowly escaped a Brush from the Tail of the last Comet, which would have infallibly reduced it to Ashes; and that the next, which they have calculated for One and Thirty Years hence, will probably destroy us. For, if in its Perihelion it should approach within a certain Degree of the Sun, (as by their Calculations they have Reason to dread) it will conceive a Degree of Heat ten Thousand Times more intense than that of red hot glowing Iron; and in its Absence from the Sun, carry a blazing Tail Ten Hundred Thousand and Fourteen Miles long; through which if the Earth should pass at the Distance of one Hundred Thousand Miles from the Nucleus or main Body of the Comet, it must in its Passage be set on Fire, and reduced to Ashes. That the Sun daily spending its Rays without any Nutriment to supply them, will at last be wholly consumed and annihilated; which must be attended with the Destruction of this Earth, and of all the Planets that receive their Light from it.

 

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2880408/posts?page=59#59

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"Yesh, isn't they beautifull? I'm certain they remind you of flowers."

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