Posted on 11/08/2011 11:27:48 AM PST by blam
NOAA Warns of Monster Solar Storm Region Facing Earth for Next Two Weeks; Fully Capable of Producing X-Class Flares
Mac Slavo
November 8th, 2011
SHTFplan.com
Last Thursday the sun produced an X1.9 rated solar flare that narrowly missed Earth. Although it wasn’t aimed directly at us, about 45 minutes after leaving the sun it was still powerful enough to disrupt radio communications.
Now, that same area responsible for producing the X-class flare may pose a direct threat to Earth.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center says that the region on the sun known as AR11339 and affectionately called the “Benevolent Monster” will set its sights on Earth. It will move into a position that poses the largest risk to our planet around November 9th, 2011 and remain on a direct line of sight with earth for the following two (2) weeks as it rotates:
Scientists at the federal Space Weather Prediction Center say that area is the most active part of the sun since 2005. It has dozens of sunspots, including one that is the size of 17 Earths.
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“It’s still growing. The size is what blows me away.”
Thursday’s flare wasn’t aimed at Earth. However, this active region is now slowly turning toward Earth, and scientists say it will be directly facing Earth in about five days.
That storm region will only affect Earth if it shoots off flares and they hit our planet, which doesn’t always happen with stormy areas, said prediction center space scientist Joe Kunches.
The region will be facing Earth for about two weeks as it rotates, he said.
Solar flares send out bursts of electromagnetic energy that can occasionally disrupt communications and electrical systems.
Sourced Via The Intel Hub
We’ll be facing the monster starting sometime this evening into tomorrow. Considering that it has just recently ejected an X-class flare towards Earth and another towards Venus, we should consider the region to be active and fully capable of affecting our planet.
While NOAA’s warnings fall short of any imminent ‘end of the world as we know it’ event, the risk over the next two weeks of a Carrington-like event are higher now than at anytime in the last decade. The 1859 Carrington Event, caused by a solar flare, reportedly knocked out telegraph operations around the world. It is believed that such an event, were it to occur today, could potentially take down the U.S. power grid for months or years and paralyze the entire globe:
Physicist Michio Kaku:
It could paralyze the economy of the planet earth. In 1859 we had a gigantic solar storm which knocked out telegraph wires back then, 150 years ago. If that had happened today it would knock out almost all our satellites, knock out power stations, there would be food riots around the country because refrigeration would stop, airplanes would probably crash without radar.
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And again, this is a once in a century, once in two centuries storm…
We do have them and we have to worry about them.
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We’d be thrown back 100 years.
Source: Top Physicist Says Solar Flare Would Set Us Back 100 Years
Patrick Geryl of How to Survive 2012 contacted us recently and contributed a short video describing the potential fall out of such an event. The consequences would be devastating and would include everything from power grid failure and food shortages, to savage riots and, eventually, a meltdown of nuclear reactors across the globe.
(Go to the site to view the video
There would be very little warning, if any, with estimates suggesting that once a solar event is detected it could take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of days to impact earth.
Coronal mass ejections are often associated with other forms of solar activity, most notably solar flares, but a causal relationship has not been established. -- wikipedia
But both tend to occur in areas of sunspots and underlying magnetic field disturbances (closed loops). The CME can expel much more matter as can be inferred from the name, whereas a flare is essentially a sudden brightening accompanied by plasma ejected into space and sometimes a solar prominence. It was once thought that a CME was driven by an underlying flare but this does not always seem to be the case. Originating in the corona, it is now known that a CME can occur without an associated flare.
Hams will take care of that little problem for you... give us about an hour and we will have some communications started again.
LLS
You have shielding for your rig like a Faraday Cage? And what about the antenna wiring outside?
X1.9, wow, that’s really something, yawn ...
I’d love to see everyone’s cell phones and “texters” go out forever ...
Thank you for the info, I am a total novice at astro-physics. I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten me.
Those of us that concentrate on long distance communication via bouncing radio waves off of the ionosphere, watch the Sun and solar weather during the day. We will have some warning before such an event would impact us.
But I was referring to the 20 year old and older all tube equipment that is not affected by EMP and the like... like modern solid state and surface mount technology. Art Collins tested a KWM1 transceiver in a nuclear test blast... it worked fine afterward.
You would be surprised at the ability of modern Hams. We may use some equipment from last century to do it. We can even build spark gap transmitters if needed.
LLS
Oklahoma is having record setting quakes. Another asteroid just missed us yesterday. Moochelle is entertaining balloon men and Hussein is still trespassing in MY house.
>> give us about an hour and we will have some communications started again <<
Yeah, but only as long as your batteries last — or as long as the gas in your generator or car holds out. So after a few hours, only the military is likely to have communications capability.
Let’s just hope that neither of us ever gets the answer.
LLS
Funny how stories change over time.......LOL!
Yes...it was a candid shot caught just after I'd seen a 'full frontal' shot of Helen Thomas.
100 years ago the Earth’s population was about 2 billion.
Ahem....
Check Out This Volcano Erupting Underwater Near Spain's Canary Islands
If you’re flying in a plane that’s fly-by-wire and the computers get fried,well you’re pretty much screwed.
1/4?More like 3/4 plus.If I can’t get seed,fuel and fertilizer,and keep my John Deeres running-a lot of people will starve.
It could have used a turbo and suspension/brake package...some ground effects.
Sincerely,
Rosan Rosanna Dana
We're refueling the sun right now, don't worry. =D
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