July 14, 2011
The sun's surface earlier this week will likely collide with Earth this weekend, scientists say.
The coronal mass ejection on Thursday, caused by the release of excess solar energy , is classified as an X1.4 event. That means the storm is probably too weak to affect satellites used for cell phone communication, but communication using shorter wavelengths, such as radio, may be affected, said John Raymond, a physicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
"Imagine something with the mass of a mountain being ejected at a speed of a million miles an hour," Raymond said, adding that by the time the storm reaches Earth, its energy will have been spread out over an enormous area. Scientists expect the storm to arrive Saturday morning, and it is still possible that it will miss Earth....
Location, location, location.
Location of Earth.
Location of Sun.
Location of Solar Activity on the Sun.
Location of Solar Flair.
It erupted from Active Region 1520, which rotated into view on July 6," NASA officials said in an alert. Active Region 1520, or AR1520, is a giant sunspot currently facing Earth.
Hm. If the government agencies hold all this information in their knowledge bases, I suppose we can relax just a little as to how much we don't know and how prepared we don't have to be for such disasters as an "EMP" from the Sun. That was electro-magnetic-pulse from the Sun.
We live in a different world from our parents. We live in a world made more complicated by computers, but, those computers also make the impossible; possible. I am quite sure there are ways of handling a sustained black out of electricity across the country should the Sun have a flare aimed directly at our path. But, it would have to be a very big solar flare with high intensity that would not be diluted by the solar wind and Earth electro-magnetic field.
I would think we could look to New York City as an example as how to respond to such an emergency. They had that grid black out. People didn't get crazy, they didn't loot each other and cause problems. They knew they were all in it together and they were rather remarkable.
I would think we would be like that if such an emergency hit the global electric grid. I can't guarantee Wall Street wouldn't go crazy though. Nope, that is an unknown. Maybe the Zombies will arise there. But, for the average person, it is my estimation they would shake their fist at the Sun and simply find their way through the day, while trusting each other and waiting for the lights to come back on.
This is a close up shot. You won't catch me taking the next flight out, I'll tell you that much.
That is beautiful though, isn't it? Hydrogen. Amazing. One would expect it to blow apart for the amount of a power as it is.
The universe comprised of tiny atoms, perfectly ordered. Amazing. And we live.
This is a close up shot. You won't catch me taking the next flight out, I'll tell you that much.
That is beautiful though, isn't it? Hydrogen. Amazing. One would expect it to blow apart for the amount of a power as it is.
The universe comprised of tiny atoms, perfectly ordered. Amazing. And we live.
