Solar Storm: Strongest Geomagnetic Storm in Six Years to Hit Earth
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- (Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory/Getty Images)
Earth will experience its strongest geomagnetic storm in six years today, but the radiation is expected to cause only minor problems with satellites, the power grid and navigation devices.
“Operators are surely seeing a greater number of errors on their system that are causing them to work a bit harder, but we’re not expecting satellites to stop,” Douglas Biesecker, a physicist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told ABCNews.com.
The storm is forecasted to be a G-2 or G-3 on NOAA’s ascending five-point scale.
Biesecker said people should not worry about harmful radiation.
“The magnetic field around Earth is protecting us. That’s one of the great things about being on Earth,” he said.
The average person won’t be affected by the radiation unless they’re taking a flight with a polar route.
“Airlines will divert those flights because high frequency communications will be impacted,” he said.
The storm was set off by a chain of events Sunday evening. A moderate solar flare erupted on the sun, which occurs tens of thousands of times every solar cycle, Biesecker said. The solar flare was associated with a coronal mass ejection, which is also a frequent occurrence. However, this particular one was big and sent a cloud of plasma with a magnetic field hurdling toward Earth at 4 million mph.
Earth experienced some of the radiation within an hour of Sunday’s solar flare.
“The ones that escape propogate to Earth at the speed of light,” Biesecker explained.
The geomagnetic storm is expected to last for one day.
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Get used to hearing of this, this year. There are supposed to be some real doosies coming this year that will have the ability to knock out communications and power for half the globe.
Posted by: kris | January 24, 2012, 9:28 am 9:28 am
I hope it distroys the internet (or just Facebook!) and cell phones. Those two things are distroying families everywhere.
Posted by: Bruce | January 24, 2012, 10:47 am 10:47 am
Bruce: I agree with you!
Posted by: Seriously | January 24, 2012, 11:45 am 11:45 am
I’m not a scientist, but curious whether that giant orb in the sky, the one sending out massive amounts of radiation, might have something to do with global warming. It seems more likely that solar flareups would impact climate more than mankind …. I know that is contrary to what we’re supposed to think – after all scientists tell us that mankind impacts global climate (not, for example the sun), but then again, there was a time when scientists thought the sun revolved around the earth (not the other way around) and that the earth was flat. Maybe, just maybe (and I know I sound like heretic saying this), the sun has more to do with climate change than mankind.
Posted by: Just wondering .... | January 24, 2012, 12:19 pm 12:19 pm
Those Republicans and the oil companies must be at it again! Not only do they cause global warming but also solar storms! They need to learn their lesson!
Al Gore had better get busy and sell solar flare credits.
Posted by: ivan | January 24, 2012, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
I’m not a scientist, but curious whether that giant orb in the sky, the one sending out massive amounts of radiation, might have something to do with global warming. It seems more likely that solar flareups would impact climate more than mankind …. I know that is contrary to what we’re supposed to think – after all scientists tell us that mankind impacts global climate (not, for example the sun), but then again, there was a time when scientists thought the sun revolved around the earth (not the other way around) and that the earth was flat. Maybe, just maybe (and I know I sound like heretic saying this), the sun has more to do with climate change than mankind.
Posted by: Just wondering
_______________________
Don’t let common sense get in the way now! The liberals have elections to win! A thought like yours could threaten that.
About 20 years ago, roughly 51% of scientists actually bought into the theory of man made global warming. Along came Al Gore staring a movement. What is amazing is how after the movement was started and the grant money was there, all of a sudden 98% of the scientists bought into man made global warming. Someone like myself might be suspicious but that’s not the politically correct way of thinking.
Global warming activists are always right, whether they’re right or wrong!
Posted by: spike | January 24, 2012, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
As opposed to the common sense that will get republicans elected?
Solar flares are not significantly more of the radiation that causes heat when it hits the earth, but is a type of radiation filled with protons, which is more dangerous to electronics.
The atmosphere of Earth is affected by a number of things. Solar radiation is one, and what humans pump into the atmosphere is another. There are others, but those two are the biggest contributors to what could be disastrous for many plant and animal species.
Posted by: scott | January 24, 2012, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
I’m not a scientist, but curious whether that giant orb in the sky, the one sending out massive amounts of radiation, might have something to do with global warming. It seems more likely that solar flareups would impact climate more than mankind …. I know that is contrary to what we’re supposed to think – after all scientists tell us that mankind impacts global climate (not, for example the sun), but then again, there was a time when scientists thought the sun revolved around the earth (not the other way around) and that the earth was flat. Maybe, just maybe (and I know I sound like heretic saying this), the sun has more to do with climate change than mankind.
Posted by: Just wondering
************************
Actually, both are right. What mankind is doing to our atmosphere is making our “protection” around our planet “thinner”, thus making us more vulnerable to whatever the sun is doing. So, yes, mankind is responsible for climate change, global warming, etc…
Posted by: Carolina | January 24, 2012, 4:15 pm 4:15 pm
Bruce — I hope so too, world would be a better place without them.
Posted by: jacko | January 24, 2012, 5:20 pm 5:20 pm
“I’m not a scientist, but curious whether that giant orb in the sky, the one sending out massive amounts of radiation, might have something to do with global warming” —
The sun is the major source of heat, of course, but it doesn’t CHANGE enough to be responsible for most of the recent warming trends. That is one way we know humans are probably the cause; the other way is that we know CO2 is a greenhouse gas.
Posted by: jock59801 | January 24, 2012, 6:06 pm 6:06 pm
At least it wasn’t a Class- X
Posted by: conservtive | January 24, 2012, 6:41 pm 6:41 pm
PLEASE proofread! “Sent a cloud of …………………………. HURDLING toward Earth at 4 million miles per hour?????????????” OMG! Those must be really, really high jumps.
Posted by: moes | January 24, 2012, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
spike wrote: “About 20 years ago, roughly 51% of scientists actually bought into the theory of man made global warming. Along came Al Gore staring a movement…all of a sudden 98% of the scientists bought into man made global warming.” +++++ What a crock! YOU are lying. The vast majority of us scientists have “bought into” global warming” since NASA data clearly showed what was going on. Most of us think Al Gore is a charlatan and talks in non-scientific terms. But the data from the Vostok study, etc. make it clear it’s happening. And it’s not 98% now. It’s virtually 100% of those trained in the physical sciences. Why not actually study the issue instead of spreading lies about us?
Posted by: The_Mick | January 24, 2012, 10:41 pm 10:41 pm