Waves

Nasa scientists braced for 'solar tsunami' to hit earth - Telegraph

The solar fireworks at the weekend were recorded by several satellites, including Nasa’s new Solar Dynamics Observatory which watched its shock wave rippling outwards.

Astronomers from all over the world witnessed the huge flare above a giant sunspot the size of the Earth, which they linked to an even larger eruption across the surface of Sun.

The explosion, called a coronal mass ejection, was aimed directly towards Earth, which then sent a “solar tsunami” racing 93 million miles across space.

Images from the SDO hint at a shock wave travelling from the flare into space, the New Scientist reported.

Experts said the wave of supercharged gas will likely reach the Earth on Tuesday, when it will buffet the natural magnetic shield protecting Earth.

It is likely to spark spectacular displays of the aurora or northern and southern lights.

"This eruption is directed right at us," said Leon Golub, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

"It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time."

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.

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”.

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.

Dr Lucie Green, of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Surrey, followed the flare-ups using Japan's orbiting Hinode telescope.

"What wonderful fireworks the Sun has been producing,” the UK solar expert said.

“This was a very rare event – not one, but two almost simultaneous eruptions from different locations on the sun were launched toward the Earth.

"These eruptions occur when immense magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere lose their stability and can no longer be held down by the Sun's huge gravitational pull. Just like a coiled spring suddenly being released, they erupt into space.”

She added: "It looks like the first eruption was so large that it changed the magnetic fields throughout half the Sun's visible atmosphere and provided the right conditions for the second eruption.

"Both eruptions could be Earth-directed but may be travelling at different speeds.

“This means we have a very good chance of seeing major and prolonged effects, such as the northern lights at low latitudes."

A Nasa spokesman was unavailable for comment.

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Mafoo

any idea how low we should be able to see the norther lights?

today might be a good day to don that foil hat ive been working on

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

Kompressor

My guess would be the US-Canada border at best.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

The Rev

That ain't shit. Worse stuff happens in my colon every fucking day.

Shit, I'm old.



The Rev

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Parallax

^im at the top of lake superior, which direction to look and when? and what exactly is going to happen

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FUCK THE ROBOTS!!!
NUKE THE WHALES!!!

Captain Cannabis

http://science.nasa.gov/media/medial...ngfilament.mov

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fuck the monkeys

Waves

^damn nature, you scary

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

adventure

And everyone laughed when i bought real estate on the moon fuck you all

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Coming Full Range

Parallax

you cant buy real estate on the moon, nobody owns it. to claim a part of the moon you would need to have some sort of base there.

you got screwed

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FUCK THE ROBOTS!!!
NUKE THE WHALES!!!

adventure

I have a receipt

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

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Coming Full Range

Captain Cannabis

i read spaceweather.com every day. wicked interesting compared to news websites

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fuck the monkeys

FourtySecondRip

all my electronics in the house shut off and my xbox got RROD at like 230 pst today was that the second one? my pc stayed on with the surge protector and backupsupply but my router, tv, cable box and all that stuff got shut off

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..,,,O,,,..
<\FSR/>
.,._/\_.,

Kishar

"Sky watchers in the northern U.S. and other countries should look toward the north late Tuesday or early Wednesday for rippling "curtains" of green and red light, the CfA said."

Northern lights could illuminate the sky late Tuesday night - CNN.com

Of course I wont get to see it, it's been thick clouds and rain all day.

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Those Americans who believed that we could live under the illusion of isolationism wanted the American eagle to imitate the tactics of the ostrich. Now, many of those same people, afraid that we may be sticking our necks out, want our national bird to be turned into a turtle. But we prefer to retain the eagle as it is--flying high and striking hard. "FDR"

Dr. ShinDig

damn dude, if you want to get a look at The Rev's Colon man, theres only one way to do that. I think such a thing would be best left to discussing in private messages.

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SageTree

Eyes on the skies tonight @ 53°N

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Kompressor

Most recent polar pass: NOAA-17
Center time 2010 Aug 04 0046 UT
Activity level 9
n = 0.81



The plots on this page show the current extent and position of the auroral oval at each pole, extrapolated from measurements taken during the most recent polar pass of the NOAA POES satellite. "Center time" is the calculated time halfway through the satellite's pass over the pole.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

Kompressor

Aurora Update

We'll have multiple opportunities for a display of the Northern Lights over the next two days. The latest word from the solar scientists is that the Sun erupted not just once, but four times. All four coronal mass ejections are headed toward Earth.

Space weather forecasts are even more challenging than regular weather forecasts. Dr. Leon Golub says a coronal mass ejection is like a hurricane: it’s large and fuzzy, and doesn’t always move at the same speed. Currently, the estimated arrival times are:

Wednesday, Aug. 4 – 3:00 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, Aug. 4 – 1:00 p.m. EDT (aurorae not visible in daylight)
Wednesday, Aug. 4 – 8:00 p.m. EDT
Thursday, Aug. 5 – 2:00 a.m. EDT

Any one of these events may or may not generate an aurora. It depends on details like magnetic field orientation. If the magnetic field in the oncoming solar plasma is directed opposite Earth’s magnetic field, the result could be spectacular aurorae. If the fields line up, the coronal mass ejection could slide past our planet with nary a ripple.
Viewing tips: No fancy equipment is needed to see the Northern Lights. You should seek a viewing location with dark skies, as far from city lights as possible. Then, look to the north. An aurora appears as a ghostly sheen of light, colored green or red, that slowly shimmers and undulates over time. An aurora can disappear within minutes or last for hours.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson

Parallax

i was out for a smoke earlier and didnt see anything, im gonna come out for another smoke soon and ill check again.

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FUCK THE ROBOTS!!!
NUKE THE WHALES!!!

Waves

yo komp post if you see something over chi-land

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Kompressor

We ain't seeing shit, we're too far south, not to mention too much light pollution.

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Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. -H. Bergson