Solar Storms Turn Part Of Sun Into 'benevolent Monster'

[Mr Lee]

Lets all hope it does not shoot any flares towards earth or communications could be injured or worse. In other words, no ATM's, phones, satellites etc etc. WASHINGTON -- After years of quiet, the sun is coming alive with solar storms in a big way. The sun shot off a flare Thursday afternoon from a region that scientists are calling a "benevolent monster." Scientists at the federal Space Weather Prediction Center say that area is the most active part of the sun since 2005. It has dozens of sunspots, including one that is the size of 17 Earths. Sunspots are kinks or knots in the sun's magnetic field. "It's beautiful," said forecaster Jess Whittington. "It's still growing. The size is what blows me away." Thursday's flare wasn't aimed at Earth. However, this active region is now slowly turning toward Earth, and scientists say it will be directly facing Earth in about five days.That storm region will only affect Earth if it shoots off flares and they hit our planet, which doesn't always happen with stormy areas, said prediction center space scientist Joe Kunches. The region will be facing Earth for about two weeks as it rotates, he said. Solar flares send out bursts of electromagnetic energy that can occasionally disrupt communications and electrical systems. For the past several years, the sun has been at a quiet end of its cycle and only recently has gotten more active. Solar cycles go in 11-year period. This cycle has had fewer storms than usual for this time in its cycle. But that may be changing. "The sun is looking more like we think it should at this point in the solar cycle," Kunches said. "It's got a number of active centers."

[Mr Lee]

On top of that, might not this end up related. What if the flare happens as it passes. :dance: I hope they are correct because even a much closer call could possibly cause issues. Close encounter of an asteroid kind The bad news first: An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will be hurling toward Earth and is expected to fly between the Earth and the moon on Tuesday. The good news: The space rock will not, repeat not, hit Earth. Even though NASA has classified asteroid 2005 YU55 as a "potentially hazardous object." Even though it will pass closer than all other large asteroids have done in the past 35 years. It will do just that: pass by.

[Jake]

On top of that, might not this end up related. What if the flare happens as it passes. :dance: I hope they are correct because even a much closer call could possibly cause issues. Close encounter of an asteroid kind The bad news first: An asteroid the size of an aircraft carrier will be hurling toward Earth and is expected to fly between the Earth and the moon on Tuesday. The good news: The space rock will not, repeat not, hit Earth.Even though NASA has classified asteroid 2005 YU55 as a "potentially hazardous object." Even though it will pass closer than all other large asteroids have done in the past 35 years. It will do just that: pass by.

I have worked on high powered radars while in the US Navy. My balls are already blue from all that RF radiation. As far as potential asteroid impacts, I just hope they will give me enough timeto bend over and kiss my butt good-bye. Jake

[Mr Lee]

I am making people aware of this not because I think the end is near, although there is an infinitesimal chance that it could happen, but because there is a very real chance that electronics might be interfered with, or quite possible damaged by solar storms due to the electromagnetic pulse wave it could produce. Also should one happen exactly as the asteroid passes, it is anyones guess what will happen then but the path very well could be altered and thus bring it closer to earth. Therefore I feel members might wish to have some extra cash around and not panic if things we depend on daily stop working, such as radio, the internet, TV, telephones and especially long distance communication, or anything that may require the use of satellites. Myself being a Amateur radio operator for 34 years and having had a 12 foot satellite dish years ago, I have experienced first hand the outages that some minor solar storms have caused, so I see a real possibility that during heavy occurrences of storms lasting up to two weeks, that things may not function normally, and should the earth take a direct hit from one of these solar flares, then some electronics could even be totally destroyed and thus require major repairs. How long that repair might take is anyones guess. A tip for you all, if we should get any warning, which we probably won't, disconnecting power will save your electronics, so you might wish to disconnect the things you do not need, such as an extra TV or computer, during those two weeks. So my thoughts are to take precautions such as have some extra cash on hand, pay some bills in advance, make that phone call you have been putting off and putting off, stock up on some food, and any other thing which you feel may be impacted by a shut down of the things we take for granted daily for our lives. Being prepared is not being paranoid, it is just being smart. Better to have than not have if something should happen, and if nothing happens then nothing was lost.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Well the cycle is every eleven years for major activity on the sun so now that its up to the end of that cycle where solar flares occur I am trying to recall if any other problems hit us in the past cycles?

[Mr Lee]

Well the cycle is every eleven years for major activity on the sun so now that its up to the end of that cycle where solar flares occur I am trying to recall if any other problems hit us in the past cycles?

Yes it is every 11 years that there are flares, but for some reason it has been predicted we are heading for possibly the worst ever. Powerful Solar Storm Could Shut Down U.S. for MonthsA new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

The prediction is based in part on a major solar storm in 1859 that caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.

It was perhaps the worst in the past 200 years, according to the new study, and with the advent of modern power grids and satellites, much more is at risk.

"A contemporary repetition of the [1859] event would cause significantly more extensive (and possibly catastrophic) social and economic disruptions," the researchers conclude.

Prepare for the Worst, Because Solar Storms Are About to Get Ugly and of course hope for the best. Scientists warn of severe disruption by intense solar storms The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and scientists are warning of the potential dangers if strong solar flare storms continue. Some say solar storms could cost $2 trillion in damages. This storm has now sparked discussion on what could actually happen in the event of even stronger solar storms. Theoretical physicist and professor Michio Kaku put it bluntly when he stated in 2009 that the sun could release a “tsunami of radiation” that could wipe out anything from a BlackBerry to the Internet to television stations.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Mr. Lee
add

[Dave Hounddriver]

If the Internet etc is wiped out then I am happy to be in the Philippines. My guess is that those who are working for a living will suffer more than those sitting on a beach and sipping rum and coke. :bash:

[Mr Lee]

If the Internet etc is wiped out then I am happy to be in the Philippines. My guess is that those who are working for a living will suffer more than those sitting on a beach and sipping rum and coke. :bash:

As long as those sitting on the beach set aside some money to pay for things in advance, because if electronics are wiped out, it will mean long lines in the banks, and that is if they have backup printouts telling them how much money customers have in the banks, since I am pretty sure that no ATM machines will be working either, and especially those of us who need to get our money from another country in order to live. I would suspect that the place to be then might be one of the farms where we can manage to live just by eating off the land, until and if things get fixed and back to normal. I am only going to take a guess here, but I would suspect that after 9/11 that some financial institutions in first world countries might be printing reports for hard copy backups, but what are the chances they are doing that in the Philippines. :unsure: If they are, then it would end up better in the Philippines than most other places since the bank employees and most other workers would be willing to work with no power or aircon, but I am not sure the same would be true of the lazy, spoiled and often fat assed workers here in the states. :as-if:

[Mr Lee]

For those who think this is all paranoia and can never happen, you might then wonder why the US FDIC is just now telling people to prepare in case a natural disaster does. You can read a copy at the following link if you care to. http://www.fdic.gov/.../Sum11Color.pdf Some interesting reading no matter what people think could or could not happen. Federal and state banking regulatorsrequire financial institutions todevelop and test “disaster recovery”and “business continuity plans.”Each plan must spell out how thebank will recover data, ensure theavailability of cash, continue servingcustomers, and otherwise functionefficiently after a wide-rangingdisaster — one in which personnel may be unavailable, key facilities are crippled, and power and phones are out for an extended period.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I dont see the big deal as natural disasters can happen at any time any place so whats new about the FDIC advice?