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Recent Solar Flare Could Disrupt Communications
w98 writes "CNN has reported that the 4th largest solar flare in the last 15 years may disrupt communications. "Significant solar eruptions are possible in the coming days and there could be disruptions in spacecraft operations, electric power systems, high frequency communications and low-frequency navigation systems," says the article."
This ought to provide a good excuse for various network problems for a few weeks.... ^_^
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
The same process that creates Coronal Mass Ejections will finally free humanity from the constraints of energy dependency! Charles Cagle, friend to everyone on sci.physics and sci.physics.fusion has created an unlimited energy supply patterned after CMEs.
But beware: you must never show disdain for the New and Apocalypic Physics! Disbelievers will be CONSUMED by the fires of the sun in a mighty CME that will lay waste to those who do not follow Brother Charley!
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
...only one thing - invasion.
from the looks of the picture on CNN's site, we're well and truly screwed.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
Cue a bunch of slashdot posts with people getting cut off in the mid...##KR2F@F@$F$ {NO CARRIER}
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This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
Don't be ridiculous.
:)
It's obvious to the most casual observer that the solar flare is caused by global warming, which in turn, is caused by the Bush administration.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
What's the chance of seeing them?
I live on 56N12E
Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
Power outage? Communication disruption? On CNN?
Hey, I'm surprised they haven't used the T word yet =)
You are more than the sum of what you consume. Desire is not an occupation.
Here you go.
MDI just showed a spot ... I have no idea why CNN thought that was a good picture.
EIT's in the middle of a bakeout, so you'll want to take a look at the SOHO/LASCO images, or GOES/SXI
See the NASA press release for more info.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Damn that global warming! Now it's screwing up the sun!
I think that's a transit of Mercury.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
So these flares cause electromagnetic activity that occurs pretty quickly. According to the cnn.com article, their source was NOAA's Space Environment Center, and they handily included a link to said department.
According to the information at NOAA, the effects from this event will end by the morning of Sept 8. In other words, it's all over now, if you wanted to prepare.
Now, along with these often comes CME (coronal mass ejections), but this event wasn't facing Earth, so there won't be any of that material heading our way.
I have to ask what good it does for CNN to post this information as though it is an alert to prepare, rather than as an after-the-fact notice?
NOAA also has an article, with pictures and a movie, too.
"No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
That is just so wrong. See Electric Universe for the real truth about the sun and solar flares...
The owls are not what they seem
Now they have an excuse to screw up even more.
PHP Developer Virginia this sig sold out!
I think it's a transit of Vulcan! (For those unfamiliar with the rich history of Vulcan, you should really follow the link.)
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
At least while we're standing on our roofs yelling into our cellphones, "Can you hear me now?", we can be enjoying the spectacular aurora borealis.
This led to the coolest desktop picture ever (2400x2400, about 1 meg, be sure to wear sunglasses).
Cool quote FTA: "Luckily, the flare was not aimed directly towards Earth!"
Global warming is even affecting the weather on the sun! It's a joke . . . ah say . . . it's a joke, sun.
I'm not positive, but I believe they're referring to ADF beacons, which are not used very much these days, except to confirm VHF beacons, and ADF technology is not terribly reliable (receivers can be fooled by lightning, for example.) Pilots are told to listen to the received audio carrier (which I believe contains a morse code sequence) to make sure they have a valid signal.
Given that GPS was relatively popular in planes even 15 years ago (before they had ILS-certified GPS systems, so GPS has only become more popular) I can't see this being a problem except for some parts of the general aviation community which haven't chosen to install GPS panel-mount units or at least buy a handheld unit.
I suppose they could also be referring to LORAN/LORAN-C (used mostly by boats, save during WW2), but...jesus christ, I hope nobody's still relying on LORAN...maybe as a backup to GPS, sure...but...yikes.
Please help metamoderate.
Here is another rather awe-inspiring picture from Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Lab.
Sig cancelled due to lack of interest
Who are the jedi?
The looters?
Not only the 4th largest in the last 15 years, but also the 5th largest in the last 30 years, which is from the beginning of measurements in 1976:
. html
http://www.spaceweather.com/solarflares/topflares
There have also been reports, that the 10cm radio flux with 27000 sfu has been even greater, than that of the 04/11/03 event.
--- censored
BOFHs everywhere rejoice!
-Peter
Does anyone remember in the IMAX documentary Solarmax where a super solar flare is mentioned? If I remember correctly, a super-duper solar flare is long overdue, and it has the potential of wiping out our entire satellite fleet. Also, here you can find a more detailed account of the recent solar flare than the AP article that appears on CNN: http://space.com/scienceastronomy/050908_solar_fla re.html
In related news, oil jumped $5.50 a barrel today on speculation that the disruption to cell phones, caused by the flairs, would prevent people from checking GasBuddy.com as they drive around town looking for who has the cheapest gas. Congress is expected to wave its arms in helpless frustration, shouting out "Oh, look, An Eagle!"
Ryosen
One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
According to spaceweather.com, the sun spot that trigged this flare just became visible after transiting the far side of the sun for the past two weeks. Explosions later this week and next could produce some lovely September auroras.
I knew I shouldn't have bought that satellite phone just yet.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
First Katrina, then the lump in Oregon. Now solar flares?!
Apocalypse Now!
"How am I supposed to remember you, when you won't let me forget?" --Bare Naked Ladies
The Kyoto Accords were made to prevent solar flares?
...
It's already disrupting communications. Got a call from one of our Emergency Management staff helping out in Mississippi and he said "all" technology was down. It lasted about four hours and affected their satphones and wireless broadband. Ironically, they started working as soon as he got me on my cellphone...and yet again, I look like a God. :)
This story is a dupe. I'm pretty sure I've seen it at least 3 times in the last 15 years. Besides if you watch Southpark you would know that global WARMING couldn't possibly bring on an ICE age.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one the bus load of girls just went down.
In an announcement next Wednesday, FEMA director Ima Doofus announced that FEMA was ready to deal with the massive disruption a week later than the event. "We had a really important golf game. Watch this drive."
...
In related news, the country of Belgium recently overtook the US in the size of their economy
. laugh, it's a joke .
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Remember the Voyager mission? Every couple of years, deep space exploration vehicles experience the fists of fury from our very own yellow star. Check this out: Blast Wave Blows Through the Solar System
The solar wind clashes with the gases in interstellar space leading to ripples that can interfere with our communication with voyager and other such ships. The current flares will catch up in a couple of years but before that the voyagers would have experienced something else too. Read this: Voyager Enters Solar System's Final Frontier
Yes because I'm sure that Bush really could have reversed decades of environmental damage caused by previous administrations in a matter of 5 years. This is assuming that global warming even "caused" Katrina in the first place, which is doubtful.
It is helpful for getting that ringworld back into position.
Build a man a fire, he's warm for one night. Set him on fire, and he's warm for the rest of his life.
[NO CARRIER]
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
With all the pollutants that are being pumped maliciously into the skies eventually float up to the Sun. As the sun orbits around the earth it scrapes through this layer of filth and causes damage to it. This damage will eventually erupt into a solar flare. This is the primary cause of global warming.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Ray: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff.
Venkman: Exactly.
Ray: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling.
Egon: Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston: The dead rising from the grave.
Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria!
- Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
Imagine there was a perminant, or at least very long term disruption of these systems. How would we cope? Are people working on alternative forms of communication, electrical, and other systems that are immune to these kind of effects? Just how long would it take humanity to recover? Would it even be possible? Or would such a challenge simply encourgae us to find better, different means to implement the functionality of those systems?
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
Yes because I'm sure that Bush really could have reversed decades of environmental damage caused by previous administrations in a matter of 5 years.
The point to my comment was that, regardless of the circumstances surrounding an event in the history of an Administration, it is *always* the responsibility of the sitting President to respond to a disaster. Whether the disaster was worse because of some problems from a previous Administration is irrelevant to the people who are suffering through it. The fact is that you take the job of President to accept responsibility, not dodge it.
And I don't engage in debates of Democrats are worse than Republicans because I find them both to be two sides of the same bad penny. Bush is the President and has been for four years. Any attempt to dodge responsibility for anything that happens on his watch is just political grandstanding. It *is* his responsibility. The fact that Republicans have been preaching to the rest of America about taking personal responsibility for their actions makes his attempt to dodge it now all the more hypocritical.
This is assuming that global warming even "caused" Katrina in the first place, which is doubtful.
What caused you to come to the conclusion that it is doubtful that Katrina is caused by global warming?
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
Are people working on alternative forms of communication, electrical, and other systems that are immune to these kind of effects?
Where I work we're heavily shielded, and at home we can barely get cell phone reception for the same reason. But it is impacting my wireless laptop a bit - good thing I have cables to my DSL and Cable modem.
But since I gave up cell phones, it's only the wireless reception I'd miss. Something good about not having people bug you when you're out and about.
I imagine we'd adapt the way we adapted our lives to live with tech.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
...that communications were being disrupted, even if they didn't really understand that a solar flare was the reason why reception is lousy... All I could get clearly was channel 7 in my area ,which worked out just fine since it was showing the one show I was interested in - Lost.
This change is inexorable, unstoppable. While global warming may, arguably, be influenced by people, solar warming, is not, and long term, no matter what we do, we can't stop it. As stars age, they get hotter...
I 2nd that. Every time the weather's off, or temperatures are higher, or any other anomily people go off screaming bloody murder that we need the government to control every last industrial and personal asset on the planet to save us from environmental doom.
The truth is that almost all of these environmental regulations are welcomed by the industries they regulate because they increase barriers to entry making it harder for competitors to enter the market with newer, cleaner, more competitive technologies. This is Business 101 found in any MBA text book.
First Katrina, then the lump in Oregon. Now solar flares?!
Sounds more like the clap, actually. Or some other STD.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
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Your doom is at hand:
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bah nevermind, this guy's just plain nutZ
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Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?
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King Tut was right. The sun is Ra -- the one and only God.
That's why Bush couldn't break away earlier from his five-week worship session on the ranch. Then Ra would have been really angry.
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/X17/
An X20+ in 1991, and we all survived.
I wouldn't be too worried unless I was living on the ISS, or if I was a satellite. Where a tinfoil hat would be useful in such a situation (well, OK a lead foil one for my 'nads.)
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
Firefox showed me the RSS link as:
Recent Solar Flare Could Disrupt Communicat...
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMNFTWLDMD_index_0.html
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
We also know that the 17th century observations of the sun showed very few spots, whereas today spots are quite numerous. That's another variability.
Finally, several scientific papers suggest that solar activity variations have a major effect on the climate, much higher than was previously thought. There is a 208-year cycle that generated drought in South America during recent history, and these solar-forced droughts killed the Maya empire among other victims.
References: "A Variable Sun and the Maya Collapse", Kerr, Science, Vol 292, Issue 5520, 1293 , 18 May 2001 and Solar Forcing of Drought Frequency in the Maya Lowlands, Hodell, Science, Vol 292, Issue 5520, 1367-1370 , 18 May 2001.
So the sun most probably holds the key to long-term climate changes. We need more studies, because obviously, after a few decades of space observations, we don't know enough about cycles that last centuries.
--
Mad science! Robots! Underwear! Cute girls! Full comic online! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
Suppose that someone was going to be flying in the next few days. How will this effect the slightly elevated radiation dosage that one would normally receive while flying for several hours at 30,000 feet?
See http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=84656&cid=7389 142 for an earlier (and tragically underrated) post relating to a good fiction novel that describes what it might be like if a really nasty solar flare and CME were pointed right at the earth.
Because it was a big hurricane. Big hurricanes happen sometimes.
But the frequency of large hurricanes is increasing, if the data is correct. Doesn't that indicate some energy increase may account for the increase?
Studies show that virtually everyone who eats a banana eventually dies. Therefore, bananas cause death. Ban them.
I understand logical fallacies, thank you. But if the people who eat bananas have a statistically higher chance of dying than anyone else in a general population then you can safely assume that bananas may be the contributing factor in their early demise. Given enough data you can actually make a positive correlation between eating bananas and early death.
That is how they determined smoking causes early death.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
"This is assuming that global warming even "caused" Katrina in the first place, which is doubtful."
well, hurricane are increasing in numbers, and are tieed to the oceans, which are getting warmer.
However, my issue with this Administration is that they were told a hurricane of this magnetude would do exactly what Katrina did, but the stopped funding that was needed to fix the levies. also so that could put the money into there illegal war and give financing to an unneeded and over-powered agency, DHS.
That is why the blame for this disaster sits squarlly with the president.
And remember :
Thefirst rule of leadership is EVERYTHING is your fault.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
That's right. Smokers typically die before lunch, whereas non-smokers last until almost dinner time.
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
Huummmm, right now I'm seeing strange rays and light effects coming from the sun and #1th1~~7 could ~$#~ [ mea). Isn't t@|e nice?
sgis ddo ekil t'nod i
So they're marketing cigarettes to mayflies now? Will the evils of the tobacco companies never end?!
The enemies of Democracy are
But the frequency of large hurricanes is increasing, if the data is correct.
Wrong. Here is the data from the National Hurricane Center on number of major hurricane strikes to the U.S. mainland each decade. Please show me where in this data the number of large hurricanes is increasing?
Don't blindly buy into the "frequency of large hurricanes is increasing" myth being pushed by many so-called environmentalist. They have a political agenda, pure and simple.
I have four gkrellkam panels, one for watching sunspots, another for coronal holes (currently in "bake-out"), another for the auroral oval and the above one. The links for those images are:
sunspots
coronal holes
Auroral oval (replace "pmapS.gif" to "pmapN.gif" for the northern hemisphere)
Take a look to the SOHO website (lastest images->near realtime images) for more images... sadly the SOHO now is in a kind of blind point, so many of them are marked as "CCD Bakeout". Maybe it will be back online in a few weeks.
Of course you can use gkrellkam for a lot of other purposes, like getting weather satellite images... oh, and getting images from a ordinary webcam ;)
Some HAMs are reporting excellent signal propogation and some awesome DX contacts...
I want a new world. I think this one is broken.
...the shift of the magnetic poles on Earth?
Are they trying to mask the shift so people won't panic as much?
I know this might be a bit off topic (like people cares these days) but I will sure look like a penguin wearing a tinfoil hat anyways...
Have a good one.
===== "Every head is a different world so don't invade mine you FREAK!" smartSAGA said
Wrong.
I stand corrected.
Don't blindly buy into the "frequency of large hurricanes is increasing"
I don't. You see that I put "if" in the statement you quoted. I see the facts and stood by your point.
They have a political agenda, pure and simple.
Who doesn't?
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
That "conspiracy theories only natural" meme is obviously planted by "the man" to keep us guessing and throwing out wild ideas instead of realizing the REAL conspiracy all around us.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
The current space weatherwith x-ray data and forecast. I haven't looked at SOHO images yet, so I can't say whether the CME is Earth-directed or not, or even if there is one.
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
CCD bakeout and orbital maneuvers come at most inopportune time. It won't be ready 'til Friday morning.
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
As I'm not sure of the southpark reference, I don't know if you were being funny or not, but global warming can cause an iceage.
Imagine just a little bit of the northern icecaps melting into the pacific ocean. Suddenly the North-Atlantic drift (the flow of warm water from the gulf of mexico to northern europe) ceases to warm norway and sweden. Norway and sweeden are pretty far north. The only thing that keeps them from freezing over is the north-atlantic drift. So if that doesn't keep them warm anymore then they freeze over, turn white, and reflect more sun away from the earth. This starts an iceage.
Of course none of this is a guarantee, but that's one way it could happen.
Help I'm a rock.
I thought that this was caused by Slashdot's pending conversion to CSS and ongoing testing. Just goes to show what I know.
This is an obvious result of global warming. Fucking Kyoto-snubbing Bush.
Seriously curious, isn't most of the stuff that causes trouble EM in nature, and if they are how come it takes a week longer than the light that made the image? Isn't this stuff travelling at the same speed?
Information and images of the flare activity is available from the Ionospheric Prediction Service (IPS) in Australia; especially the Solar page, that shows things like:
List of X-ray flares
Solar disk with flare image - Culgoora Observatory
Spectrograph 25-180MHz) - Learmonth Observatory
full disc image - Learmonth Observatory
Then, there is the comprhensive Space Weather page.
Looking at space, radio, science and computing from a 'down-under' amateur enthusiast perspective.
i may have got this wrong, but when i was a communicator in the royal navy, we had a big problem with sending and receiveing HF RATT signals, we called up the communications centre and they said it was down to the 11 year solar cycle, but that was only a couple of years ago. it screwed us up big time because we were in the middle of a mock war at the time and we had to stay up 19-20 hours at a time
Interesting, Oh no wait the other thing, Tedious
This flare knocked out HF communications on the daylight side of the planet for some time. When the lower layer of the ionosphere (the D-layer) gets strongly ionized, radio signals are absorbed before they get to the upper layers. Look up the term "SID" - Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance.
If the coronal mass ejection had been directed at the Earth, we would probably have had an aurora. Then the power companies would be worrying about huge currents being induced in their transmission lines by the shifting geomagnetic field.
Solar flares send large X-ray and relativistic charged particle fluxes smashing into satellites. Geomagnetic storms spawned by CMEs can also pump up the number of high-energy protons that smack into satellites.
Yes, the public should be interested when giant solar flares and CMEs occur, they can disrupt commnications of many kinds.
I'm just an Old Fart Ham Radio Operator who will be able to reach outside the disaster zone after the next earthquake/hurricane/whatever.
Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who mind don't matter, and the people who matter don't mind.
shuldent bother DSL... hopefully...
You said "if the data is correct", implying there is data that show an increase. Just where is this incorrect data which you were referencing? Or were you just pulling it out of your ass?
Ya know, no good can come from admitting a mistake on this forum. Assfucks like yourself will just post as AC and shit all over the attempt to correct a mistake. What's the matter? Did your mom stop breast feeding you too early?
Fuck you and your fucking AC post. I realize we all post nom de plume, but posting under our nicks at least gives our peers an opportunity to hold us somewhat accountable for what we write. Your post, however, is just fucking mean spirited and stupid and deserves the response it receives.
If you don't like my posts then don't read or reply to them.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"