Scientists: Strong Solar Storm Heading to Earth

[theHandpuppet]

Source: abc News

Scientists: Strong Solar Storm Heading to Earth
WASHINGTON — Sep 10, 2014, 9:49 PM ET
By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

A strong solar flare is blasting its way to Earth, but the worst of its power looks like it will barely skim above the planet and not cause many problems.

It has been several years since Earth has had a solar storm of this size coming from sunspots smack in the middle of the sun, said Tom Berger, director of the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. The flare on the sun barely hits the "extreme" on forecasters' scale, but with its worst effects missing Earth it is only looking "potentially strong" at most when it arrives at Earth as a solar storm, he said.

New calculations from satellite data show that the worst of the energetic particles streaming from the sun likely will go north or above Earth this time, Berger said late Wednesday.

So while the power grid may see fluctuations because the storm will cause changes in Earth's magnetic field, it won't knock power systems off line, Berger said. It may cause slight disturbances in satellites and radio transmissions but nothing major....


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/scientists-extreme-solar-storm-heading-earth-25416134

[theHandpuppet]

1. Solar flare could prompt brilliant Northern Lights display

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/solar-flare-could-prompt-brilliant-northern-lights-display-1.2762361
Solar flare could prompt brilliant Northern Lights display
Sun spot eruption caused strong solar flare
CBC News Posted: Sep 10, 2014

The Northern Lights may be especially brilliant during an expected geomagnetic storm Friday after a sun spot erupted early this week.

The sun spot eruption caused a particularly strong solar flare, according to Spaceweather.com. On the so-called Richter scale of solar flares, it registered as an X1, making it one of the biggest possible.

The flare could have prompted the sun to produce a coronal mass ejection (CME) or a set of gas bubbles threaded with magnetic field lines, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center.

CME can affect solar wind flow and "produce disturbances that strike the Earth with sometimes catastrophic results," according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration website.... MORE

[BrotherIvan]

18. It is my dream to see those one day!

[Orrex]

2. Thanks Obama.

[The Wizard]

20. Oh sure, blame Obama, but what about the stained blue dress?(NT)

[roamer65]

3. Eventually we will see a repeat of the 1859 solar storm.

When we do, life will get "interesting".

[theHandpuppet]

4. Do we have any idea how often those occur?

I would assume these things are cyclical?

[roamer65]

6. Just depends on the Sun activity and our orbital position.

There was a similar Carrington class event in July 2012, but it narrowly missed Earth.

We are in solar maximum right now.

[AverageJoe90]

10. So we missed our chance, then.

Which is good news for us. Although I'd still want research done on reinforcing and renovating our frankly badly outdated electric grid.

[MillennialDem]

22. I'm sure they happen quite often, but the Earth is such a small target so it's all about probabiliti

es.

[jwirr]

7. Supposedly this kind of solar storm is supposed to come sometime between 2012 - 2022.

[Orrex]

21. That one knocked out cell reception across the whole continent.

Bad times.

[allan01]

5. hem fast prestowarning

http://sidc.oma.be/

[RKP5637]

8. K&R! n/t

[cosmicone]

9. Head up north for the best aurora borrealis display ever. n/t

[Sunlei]

13. some nice pictures on wiki commons of the auroras

the preview pics

[Judi Lynn]

16. They are beautiful. Wow. Thanks. n/t

[Diclotican]

19. Sunlei

Sunlei

And I have to say - they are even better up close and personal Even this wonderfull pictures do they no real justise about how they really is

Diclotican

[aggiesal]

11. The article never states ...

when this is predicted to happen.

[2naSalit]

12. Should be

visible in northern US by tomorrow night...





Meanwhile, we're having early winter starting tonight. Beartooth Pass up just NE of Yellowstone park closed Tuesday night due to snow. Much more falling tonight.

More info here too.

[Amonester]

14. The return of the polar vortex...

Will get worse every year now.

[2naSalit]

15. I'm thinking

that is probably so. It's raining right now but is beginning to turn to snow. Guess I'll getting my new tires this weekend after all. It's been in the low 30s at night for weeks already. It was quite evident that summer was over by the midle of the first week in August. But in all fairness, this is what used to be normal up here some twenty-five to thirty some odd years ago. And used to have far more snow. The past few years when we did have good amounts of snow a lot of folks who've only been here ten or fifteen years claim it's really crazy to get so much. I remember in the 1970s when there was a good seven to ten feet of snow base on the ground most of the winter with additive amounts coming and going along with several days to a couple weeks of sub zero temps in the daytime, all day long. We haven't seen temps like that in a long time which is bad because that's what will kill off the bark beetles eating our forests.

Interesting times lately.

[Sunlei]

17. I pray for ice and snow in Houston :P

[OnlinePoker]

23. Moon is at 84% tomorrow.

That could diminish the brightness of the Aurora, unfortunately.