End of the World? Perhaps, Not

January 06, 2009

Not to pull the rug out from this week’s History Channel special on Nostradamus, but there is a much more rational explanation for why things may go haywire in 2012 -- the sun will be at peak intensity.

Now you may be hearing that we’ve had solar max lots of times before and it’s never been this bad. But before you conclude that the world is ending you might want to bear in mind that Earthlings have never been so digitally enabled. All our GPS, communication satellites, polar-flying aircraft, etc., come with a price though we don’t really have a handle on just what that is quite yet. Stick around.

As solar outbursts send electrically charged rivers of plasma hurling toward Earth, expect radio, radar and satellite service disruptions. If the system operators are on the ball and safeguard their wares, outages will be temporary. If they’re caught unaware, things may get more complicated.

Want to learn more? Check out a new report by the National Science Foundation titled “Severe Space Weather Events--Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts.”

The sun is quiet now, but storms are a'coming. Credit: SOHO/ESA, NASA

Solar magic

April 27, 2008

Apparently, the sun doesn’t need spots to unleash a solar flare. On Saturday, with not a single spot in sight, the sun released a strong solar flare that registered B3.8 on the Richter scale of solar flares. A jet of highly energized particles, called a coronal mass ejection, was spotted billowing away from the sun a short time later.

Usually, such flares stem from sunspots, which are highly magnetized areas on the surface of the sun. This time, the magnetism was not intense enough to form a spot. The CME may pass close enough by Earth on Monday or Tuesday to color northern skies with aurora.

Here's a short film clip of a rather impressive solar flare -- not Saturday's outburst, but you'll get the idea: