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2010-06-10 04:44:22
space.com Wed Jun 9, 6:00 pm ET
The sun is about to get a lot more active, which could have ill effects on
Earth. So to prepare, top sun scientists met Tuesday to discuss the best ways
to protect Earth's satellites and other vital systems from the coming solar
storms.
Solar storms occur when sunspots on our star erupt and spew out flumes of
charged particles that can damage power systems. The sun's activity typically
follows an 11-year cycle, and it looks to be coming out of a slump and gearing
up for an active period.
"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect
to see much higher levels of solar activity," said Richard Fisher, head of
NASA's Heliophysics Division. "At the same time, our technological society has
developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of
these two issues is what we're getting together to discuss."
Fisher and other experts met at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum, which took
place in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club.
Bad news for gizmos
People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily
life. But smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and
emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar
activity.
A major solar storm could cause twenty times more economic damage than
Hurricane Katrina, warned the National Academy of Sciences in a 2008 report,
"Severe Space Weather Events Societal and Economic Impacts." [Photos: Sun
storms.]
Luckily, much of the damage can be mitigated if managers know a storm is
coming. That's why better understanding of solar weather, and the ability to
give advance warning, is especially important.
Putting satellites in 'safe mode' and disconnecting transformers can protect
electronics from damaging electrical surges.
"Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy, but we're making rapid
progress," said Thomas Bogdan, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)'s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo.
Eyes on the sun
NASA and NOAA work together to manage a fleet of satellites that monitor the
sun and help to predict its changes.
A pair of spacecraft called STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) is
stationed on opposite sides of the sun, offering a combined view of 90 percent
of the solar surface. In addition, SDO (the Solar Dynamics Observatory), which
just launched in February 2010, is able to photograph solar active regions with
unprecedented spectral, temporal and spatial resolution. Also, an old satellite
called the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), which launched in 1997, is
still chugging along monitoring winds coming off the sun. And there are dozens
more dedicated to solar science.
"I believe we're on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as
influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather." Fisher said.
"We take this very seriously indeed."