After solar flare, massive storm speeds Earthward
A solar flare Sunday triggered an outburst of solar material that should hit Earth Tuesday. The disturbance could lead to voltage swings on some power lines, as well as stronger northern lights.
By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / January 23, 2012
Article Link
An outburst from the sun late Sunday night is bathing Earth in the most powerful solar-radiation storm in six years.
The radiation storm is the first act of an event that will crescendo Tuesday, when the brunt of the outburst – called a coronal-mass ejection – arrives at Earth. It could trigger a disturbance of Earth's magnetic field, leading to voltage swings in long-distance power transmission lines as well as the appearance of the northern lights as far south as New York.
The current radiation storm – rated an S3, or strong, on a scale of 1 to 5 – could damage satellite hardware and present an increased risk of radiation exposure to passengers flying at high altitudes across polar routes, say space-weather specialists. These risks, however, are expected to be manageable.
RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz.
The outburst, which occurred at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday, marks the second major solar eruption in three days.
Sunday's event began with a moderate solar flare that was "nothing special" on its own, says Doug Biesecker, a solar physicist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo.
But the flare triggered the release of billions of tons of energetic particles from the sun's atmosphere. This coronal-mass ejection (CME) is hurtling toward Earth at 4 million miles an hour, "by far the fastest CME directed at the Earth during the current solar cycle," Dr. Biesecker says.
More on link
A solar flare Sunday triggered an outburst of solar material that should hit Earth Tuesday. The disturbance could lead to voltage swings on some power lines, as well as stronger northern lights.
By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / January 23, 2012
Article Link
An outburst from the sun late Sunday night is bathing Earth in the most powerful solar-radiation storm in six years.
The radiation storm is the first act of an event that will crescendo Tuesday, when the brunt of the outburst – called a coronal-mass ejection – arrives at Earth. It could trigger a disturbance of Earth's magnetic field, leading to voltage swings in long-distance power transmission lines as well as the appearance of the northern lights as far south as New York.
The current radiation storm – rated an S3, or strong, on a scale of 1 to 5 – could damage satellite hardware and present an increased risk of radiation exposure to passengers flying at high altitudes across polar routes, say space-weather specialists. These risks, however, are expected to be manageable.
RELATED: Are you scientifically literate? Take our quiz.
The outburst, which occurred at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday, marks the second major solar eruption in three days.
Sunday's event began with a moderate solar flare that was "nothing special" on its own, says Doug Biesecker, a solar physicist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo.
But the flare triggered the release of billions of tons of energetic particles from the sun's atmosphere. This coronal-mass ejection (CME) is hurtling toward Earth at 4 million miles an hour, "by far the fastest CME directed at the Earth during the current solar cycle," Dr. Biesecker says.
More on link
