NASA
10th December 2010, 17:20
For the first time scientists have used data analysed by the public to make a real-time prediction of a solar storm that should reach Earth on Monday 13 December, thanks to the Solar Stormwatch web project.
The initiative, launched in February by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG), in partnership with the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the Zooniverse citizen science project, makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to get involved in the latest solar research by helping to spot and track storms as they erupt from the surface of the Sun. These collective measurements enable scientists to forecast the arrival of storms far enough in advance to issue effective pre-emptive warnings for the first time.
The Sun is much more dynamic than it appears to the naked eye. Intense magnetic fields churn and pummel the SunÕs atmosphere and they store enormous amounts of energy that, when released, can hurl billions of tons of material out into space in eruptions called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) Š or solar storms.
The latest storm identified by the project is predicted to hit Earth at 07.32 GMT on 13 December. Solar storms have the potential to interfere with communication satellites, upset GPS navigation systems and also pose a health risk to astronauts on the International Space Station. In severe cases they can even knock out entire power grids causing widespread disruption here on Earth. On a gentler note, the particles making up a solar storm can produce beautiful displays of the Northern and Southern Lights as they collide with the Earth's upper atmosphere. Scientists are not overly concerned about the effects of the current storm, but the early warning provided by Solar Stormwatch will allow precautionary measures to be put in place.
read the rest (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/about/press/public-spot-significant-solar-storm)
More... (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/about/press/public-spot-significant-solar-storm)
The initiative, launched in February by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG), in partnership with the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the Zooniverse citizen science project, makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to get involved in the latest solar research by helping to spot and track storms as they erupt from the surface of the Sun. These collective measurements enable scientists to forecast the arrival of storms far enough in advance to issue effective pre-emptive warnings for the first time.
The Sun is much more dynamic than it appears to the naked eye. Intense magnetic fields churn and pummel the SunÕs atmosphere and they store enormous amounts of energy that, when released, can hurl billions of tons of material out into space in eruptions called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) Š or solar storms.
The latest storm identified by the project is predicted to hit Earth at 07.32 GMT on 13 December. Solar storms have the potential to interfere with communication satellites, upset GPS navigation systems and also pose a health risk to astronauts on the International Space Station. In severe cases they can even knock out entire power grids causing widespread disruption here on Earth. On a gentler note, the particles making up a solar storm can produce beautiful displays of the Northern and Southern Lights as they collide with the Earth's upper atmosphere. Scientists are not overly concerned about the effects of the current storm, but the early warning provided by Solar Stormwatch will allow precautionary measures to be put in place.
read the rest (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/about/press/public-spot-significant-solar-storm)
More... (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/about/press/public-spot-significant-solar-storm)