Strange that the title states that satellite signals were jammed, but the article doesn't say anything about this, only that short wave radio signals were disrupted.

 

Noaa / nasa had the recent radio events as an R3 radio event.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/

HF Radio: Wide area blackout of HF radio communication, loss of radio contact for about an hour on sunlit side of Earth.

Navigation: Low-frequency navigation signals degraded for about an hour.

I believe they got the S and G scales mixed up in the report.

Biological: radiation hazard avoidance recommended for astronauts on EVA; passengers and crew in high-flying aircraft at high latitudes may be exposed to radiation risk.***

Satellite operations: single-event upsets, noise in imaging systems, and slight reduction of efficiency in solar panel are likely.

Other systems: degraded HF radio propagation through the polar regions and navigation position errors likely.

Power systems: voltage corrections may be required, false alarms triggered on some protection devices.

Spacecraft operations: surface charging may occur on satellite components, drag may increase on low-Earth-orbit satellites, and corrections may be needed for orientation problems.

Other systems: intermittent satellite navigation and low-frequency radio navigation problems may occur, HF radio may be intermittent, and aurora has been seen as low as Illinois and Oregon (typically 50° geomagnetic lat.)**.

Strange that the title states that satellite signals were jammed, but the article doesn't say anything about this, only that short wave radio signals were disrupted.

 

Maybe they are saying that it COULD jam satellite signals...
If it does, I'll find out since I work at NASA, going on 35 years...dan

 

OMG a plant in our midst's. LOL sorry couldnt resist.

 

Chinese radio also affected
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpr...011/02/17/powerful-solar-flare-disrupts-radio-communications-in-southern-china/

 

Ask any ham operator what sun spot activity does to the ionosphere. It disrupts normal radio wave bounces off the ionized layer causing what is called "skip". Nothing new, but it makes for a good headline in the Enquirer.

 

Chinese radio also affected
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpr...011/02/17/powerful-solar-flare-disrupts-radio-communications-in-southern-china/

I think they're saying the same thing.

 

Solar cycle 24 has confounded all attempts to predict it.

At first they predicted it to be stronger and peak earlier than normal.

Then they predict a big peak in 2012, then 2013, now they are predicting a diminished peak.

I am beginning to suspect that we are seeing a return of the late 1380s solar minimums that triggered the little ice age. WTF, the real experts have been wrong all along, I can do any worse guessing at it.

 

I also believe that we are about to enter a period of minimum solar activity, and there's a good chance that this could cause a significant cooling for our climate. With a devastating affect on crop growing.
But like you said, solar cycle 24 HAS been confounding! So time will definitely tell.
One of the things we all should realize is that the current solar flares do not necessarily reflect what is going to happen in a solar cycle such as SC-24.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12493980

 

I am going to watch "Knowing" right now

 

I think with satellites, they have systems in place to put them in some sort of "safe mode" if they get enough warning, and they can usually adjust the orbits somewhat... But I guess it depends on how bad of a hit they get.

 

ran across a good visual clip for some 'scale' understanding on CME'S/Northern Lights/Magnetosphere no explanation needed..

 

It has been severly effecting DX comms here in Australia.

High levels of atmospheric noise for local comms too.

For almost a week now.

 

Putting critical electronics in my faraday just in case.

 

This is a solar event, not a nuclear EMP.

 

Got to love the pictures associated with this, they are awesome.

 

Pretty big event. Pictures are awe inspiring.
No effects reported around here.

 

not applicable, the charged particles in a solar flare, that enter the magnetosphere can create a pulse thru any wiring that passes through a magnetic field. say power plants, ignition systems on vehicles, computers etc....

the likelyhood is low, but can happen. and the effect has been recorded in studies. the mistake is using the term EMP.


1859
" Just before dawn the next day, skies all over planet Earth erupted in red, green, and purple auroras so brilliant that newspapers could be read as easily as in daylight. Indeed, stunning auroras pulsated even at near tropical latitudes over Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Hawaii.

Even more disconcerting, telegraph systems worldwide went haywire. Spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set the telegraph paper on fire. Even when telegraphers disconnected the batteries powering the lines, aurora-induced electric currents in the wires still allowed messages to be transmitted.

"What Carrington saw was a white-light solar flare—a magnetic explosion on the sun," explains David Hathaway, solar physics team lead at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama."

Excerpt http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/06may_carringtonflare/

solar flares can do Damage, just how much is the real question as this point.

 

If you're referring to my post then I'll say that I never stated that they couldn't do damage.

My point was the method of damage is like the E3 component of a nuclear EMP only. This is the one that induces voltage into conductors (the longer the more susceptible). It isn't much (if any) concern for sensitive electronics unless they are plugged into one of the power lines into which the voltage was induced.

A nuclear EMP however, can damage solid state electronics even if they aren't attached to the grid. This is the magnifying cascade effect of the E1 component which only lasts for milliseconds but can induce voltages of several thousand volts.

In the event of a solar storm, a faraday cage wouldn't do any more good than just unplugging the equipment.

 

Anyone else out there with a nice compass. I set mine on the table just out of curiosity when this storm was supposedly "peaking", and...well.....it was "ticking". I was pointing north, but not "settling" on magnetic north like it should have been?
Could that be solar related, or am I missing something here?
BTW, the only thing in my kitchen made of metal that I was close to, was the fridge, and I was still about 8 feet away.

 

What does your same compass do when set in the same location when it is NOT during a solar storm "peaking"?

P.S. Here are three links related to solar flares/storms/wind:
MTOF Proton Monitor
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
spaceweather.com

 

I woke up this morning, just as I did so on 1'st of January 2000.

 

sorry didnt mean to imply you did. i agree, that there is a difference between an EMP and a Solar event. which I pointed out, rather badly it seems LOL like I said the confusions seems arise in the use of EMP.

from what ive read about the 1859 event, as long as theres a magnetic field even disconnected from the grid it can still send a charge thru it. there was a report of telegraph keys on a shelf that began to go wild.

since most computer control systems on appliances and such, use no more than 14 volts it wouldnt take a lot to kill them. it would seem from the 1859 event that its a field that generates a charge in a magnetic coil. if so even unplugging a device might not help. ... okay time to do more research...