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2010-08-03 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Nasa scientists braced for 'solar tsunami' to hit earth
The earth could be hit by a wave of violent space weather as early as Tuesday after a massive explosion of the sun, scientists have warned.
The sun exploded? Why wasn't I told?
The sun exploded! GODDAMN!!!
Experts said the wave of supercharged gas will likely reach the Earth on Tuesday, when it will buffet the natural magnetic shield protecting Earth.
We're all gonna die!
...or have great tans.
It is likely to spark spectacular displays of the aurora or northern and southern lights.
Y'mean it's just twinkly lights?
That's it? The sun explodes, and that's it?
Scientists have warned that a really big solar eruption could destroy satellites and wreck power and communications grids around the globe if it happened today.
But it hasn't happened yet...
NASA recently warned that Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation "space storm".
But we wouldn't notice because we'll be wiped out...
"Once in a generation" really means every other year, just like floods, right?
Well, as long as it's just Britain, what the hell do I care?
The Daily Telegraph disclosed in June that senior space agency scientists believed the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013. It remains unclear, however, how much damage this latest eruption will cause the world's communication tools.
What's your data telling you Chuck?
Time to put in for another grant.
Posted by lotp 2010-08-03 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11139 views ]  Top

#1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859
Posted by Pstanley 2010-08-03 00:23||   2010-08-03 00:23|| Front Page Top

#2 Holy crap! It works!
Posted by Halliburton: Earthquake/Solar Tsunami Division 2010-08-03 00:32||   2010-08-03 00:32|| Front Page Top

#3 Its the late 1960's SIRIUS Event for me + VIETNAM WAR-era Guam.

On a separate note, AFAIK there was only one visually-observable ball of light oer GUAM's Hagatna Bay after Midnite this AM. May or may not had missed others becuz I went to sleep. NO KNOWN OR REPORTED EARTHQUAKES IN WESTPAC OR EAST ASIA REGIONS ASOF THIS POST.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-08-03 00:40||   2010-08-03 00:40|| Front Page Top

#4 "Britain could face widespread power blackouts..."
And all this time I thought that Lucas restricted their products to cars...... silly me.
Posted by USN, Ret. 2010-08-03 01:10||   2010-08-03 01:10|| Front Page Top

#5 We're all gonna die, women, children and minorities will be hit hardest.
Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2010-08-03 01:20||   2010-08-03 01:20|| Front Page Top

#6 And all this time I thought that Lucas restricted their products to cars...... silly me.

No, they have a wide variety of products. The majority of their product lines, however, are designed to help us with darkness.
Posted by gorb 2010-08-03 02:01||   2010-08-03 02:01|| Front Page Top

#7 Lucas Electronics (UK): a.k.a. "the Prince of Darkness"
Posted by Scooter McGruder 2010-08-03 03:14||   2010-08-03 03:14|| Front Page Top

#8 NASA's take on the flare.
href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=16939864">9864

Wonder what that's going to do to the two guys in EVA suits repairing the ammonia pump on the space station.
Posted by Skidmark 2010-08-03 03:19||   2010-08-03 03:19|| Front Page Top

#9 It is a fairly small flare from a fairly small sunspot, just the first one we have had for a while. It also looks more dramatic that what people are used to seeing because of new spacecraft that are observing the Sun.
Posted by crosspatch 2010-08-03 03:23||   2010-08-03 03:23|| Front Page Top

#10 Looks like it's pushed to Friday, if they last.

Posted by Skidmark 2010-08-03 03:25||   2010-08-03 03:25|| Front Page Top

#11 Ok, this is a class C3 flare. Classes go A, B, C, M, and X. A C class is in the middle. The classes also have a broad range. A C2 is twice as strong as a C1. A C3 is twice as strong as a C2. So this flare is in the lower end of the C class. Flares of that size do not generally cause any damage. They do give some pretty northern lights. It is NOT a "solar tsunami". It is more like a medium sized solar breaker.

An X class flare would be a tsunami.

http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/flareclasses.html
Posted by crosspatch 2010-08-03 03:33||   2010-08-03 03:33|| Front Page Top

#12 I was wrong in the magnitudes. A C2 is twice as strong as C1, a C3 would be three times as C1.

Posted by crosspatch 2010-08-03 03:34||   2010-08-03 03:34|| Front Page Top

#13 The sun exploded?

The sun is powered by fusion; it is exploding all the time. Flares and coronal mass ejections are the result of the sun's magnetic fields reconnecting ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_reconnection )
Posted by Mike Ramsey 2010-08-03 05:37||   2010-08-03 05:37|| Front Page Top

#14 The issue is whether comms and other satellites will be affected.

It's true that there are solar flares regularly, although this one is fairly large for our sun. (The scale is used for all stars, including many that are much more massive than Sol.) What has people watching this one is that the flare line is lined up with Earth right now.
Posted by lotp 2010-08-03 06:57||   2010-08-03 06:57|| Front Page Top

#15 What has people watching this one is that the flare line is lined up with Earth right now.

Satellites can be put in safe mode to protect them. Although, those block IIA GPS satellites are all rather long in the tooth ....
Posted by Mike Ramsey 2010-08-03 07:16||   2010-08-03 07:16|| Front Page Top

#16 I didn't see it. Musta happened at night.
Posted by Deacon Blues 2010-08-03 07:27||   2010-08-03 07:27|| Front Page Top

#17 Figures. Sun's gonna blow up this morning and we have rain forecast for the next two days. Dang but I miss everything ...
Posted by Steve White 2010-08-03 07:41||   2010-08-03 07:41|| Front Page Top

#18 this will set back the Islamic Space Program™ by several centuries days. Oh, the loss of self esteem! Oh, the seething!
Posted by Frank G 2010-08-03 08:27||   2010-08-03 08:27|| Front Page Top

#19 Satellites can be put in safe mode to protect them. Although, those block IIA GPS satellites are all rather long in the tooth ....

They are. They are also central to current operations, including Predators and JDAMS ... and their replacements are years away.
Posted by lotp 2010-08-03 09:11||   2010-08-03 09:11|| Front Page Top

#20 Between this and imminent global warming were doomed as a species! Unless, of course, the US Congress enacts legislation that will save the world from impending doom. Maybe they could tax the sun, and if that doesn't work they could ask the UN to impose sanctions on the sun.
Posted by Keenster 2010-08-03 09:54||   2010-08-03 09:54|| Front Page Top

#21 Cant wait , been raining for 2 days here
Posted by Black Charlie 2010-08-03 10:01||   2010-08-03 10:01|| Front Page Top

#22 I blame Bush.
Posted by Formerly Dan 2010-08-03 11:19||   2010-08-03 11:19|| Front Page Top

#23 Guys... GUYS!...

C3 is the bottom of the scale. Unlax, willya?
Posted by mojo  2010-08-03 17:05||   2010-08-03 17:05|| Front Page Top

#24 Lucas "Prince of Darkness" also the inventor of the intermittant wiper.....and dash lights....and headlights...
Posted by Warthog 2010-08-03 17:53||   2010-08-03 17:53|| Front Page Top

#25 What time on Tuesday? sheesh.
Posted by Goober Goobelopolous 2010-08-03 21:26||   2010-08-03 21:26|| Front Page Top

#26  Although, those block IIA GPS satellites are all rather long in the tooth ....

The Block IIA finished launch in 1997 and at least six of the 19 have been removed from service.

The 20 Block IIR / Block IIR-M finished launch last year. I was involved with the Block IIR rubidium oscillators.

Now we start on the Block IIF launches; first one was last May.
Posted by KBK 2010-08-03 23:41||   2010-08-03 23:41|| Front Page Top

#27 IIRC the US Govt many years ago once considered formally changing the definition of "-US" in "SIRIUS" from "ULTRA-STRONG" to "UNITED STATES".
Posted by JosephMendiola 2010-08-04 00:05||   2010-08-04 00:05|| Front Page Top

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