Saturday, January 21, 2012

Sun Shoots a Fastball at Earth

The Washington Post writes Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected on satellites, power grid. "A huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes."

It's a glancing blow that won't do much damage, but there is potential for aurora activity to be seen in places that normally don't get any. If it's clear and dark out and you're in northern US latitudes you might get a view. I also learned this:

"Besides sparking pretty auroras, heightened solar activity has a more tangible benefit: It cleans up space junk. As the sun acts up, the Earth’s atmosphere expands, increasing friction on dead satellites, rocket parts and other trash in low Earth orbit, pulling them down."

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