Huge Solar Eruption Sparks Strongest Radiation Storm in 7 Years (UPDATE)

[drokhole]

Last edited Mon Jan 23, 2012, 10:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Huge Solar Eruption Sparks Strongest Radiation Storm in 7 Years
source: Space.com



A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.
...
A barrage of charged particles triggered by this morning's solar flare is expected to hit Earth tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
...
According to NOAA, this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, and as a precaution, polar flights on Earth are expected to be re-routed within the next few hours, Kathy Sullivan, deputy administrator of NOAA, said today at the 92nd annual American Meteorological Society meeting in New Orleans, La.

(more at the link: http://www.space.com/14319-huge-solar-eruption-sparks-radiation-storm.html)

Keep an eye out for "unusually intense flares of the aurora borealis" during the "mid-morning" hours!

http://www.spaceweather.com/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/23/BAJJ1MTCTM.DTL



EDIT: An interesting article just posted on gizmodo.com:

How The Biggest Solar Storm Since 2005 Is Going to Affect You
source: Gizmodo.com

There's a solar Coronal Mass Ejection travelling towards us at 1,400 miles per second, the largest solar storm since 2005. It will hit Earth around 9am Eastern Time, causing fluctuations on the power grid and disruptions to the Global Positioning System.

Don't worry, you won't die.

But there's something else, a strong proton storm—ranking S3 on a 5-level scale—which is in full rage now and gradually increasing. While CMEs are normal—about 2,000 every 11-year solar cycle—proton storms are very rare. Only a couple of dozen happen per solar cycle. And this one can be dangerous.
The storm has already affected aircraft traffic and may affect satellites' computers. On a telephone interview, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center physicist Doug Biesecker told me that, fortunately, there are measures to avoid most dangers....

(more at the link: http://gizmodo.com/5878656/how-this-huge-solar-storm-is-going-to-affect-you)

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