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General Category => Off the Record => Topic started by: Richard Hakluyt on January 24, 2012, 09:24:13 AM

Title: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on January 24, 2012, 09:24:13 AM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16701407

A good chance to see the Aurora Borealis  :cool:
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Ideologue on January 24, 2012, 03:11:21 PM
I hope a TeV cosmic ray defies the odds and hits me right in the brain.
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Viking on January 24, 2012, 03:19:21 PM
Walking the dog in the afternoon usually results in a good light show up here.... Glorious Aurora Borealis are a mundane occurance here.
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: lustindarkness on January 24, 2012, 03:40:43 PM
Is this why my cable TV was kinda screwy yesterday?
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Siege on January 26, 2012, 10:23:06 PM
End of the Wold?

Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Razgovory on January 26, 2012, 10:52:41 PM
I've never seen the northern Lights. :(
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Tonitrus on January 27, 2012, 12:50:39 AM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 26, 2012, 10:52:41 PM
I've never seen the northern Lights. :(

Don't feel bad, I was in Alaska for three years and I never saw them either.
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Martinus on January 27, 2012, 02:10:03 AM
Quote from: lustindarkness on January 24, 2012, 03:40:43 PM
Is this why my cable TV was kinda screwy yesterday?

Mine was out for a day too. Does it just affect polar areas or other places?
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on January 27, 2012, 03:55:14 AM
When there is a solar storm the earth is bombarded with a stream of high-energy particles that play havoc with electronic systems. Luckily the Earth's magnetosphere diverts most of them out of the way, otherwise we couldn't play computer games and would have to die of cancer instead.

http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Magnetosphere/overview.html

Every now and then the polarity reverses for reasons unknown. This takes a few hundred years or so. Such a reversal, with its temporarily weak magnetic field, would be pretty bad for us in our current state of technology.

The airlines rerouted a lot of polar flights during the storm as the concentration of such particles was very high up there.
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: The Brain on January 27, 2012, 04:35:24 AM
Has anyone actually seen these particles? :yeahright:
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Valdemar on January 27, 2012, 07:51:08 AM
Quote from: Viking on January 24, 2012, 03:19:21 PM
Walking the dog in the afternoon usually results in a good light show up here....

Some dog :D

V
Title: Re: Strongest solar storm for some years
Post by: Valdemar on January 27, 2012, 07:51:39 AM
Quote from: The Brain on January 27, 2012, 04:35:24 AM
Has anyone actually seen these particles? :yeahright:

They are green  :ph34r:

V