Category Archives: Space

1 in 8 chance of Solar ‘Megastorm’ by 2014, experts explore the worst

2012 solar flare space storm auroras

Cities blacked out for up to a year, $2 TRILLION of damage – with a 1 in 8 chance of solar ‘megastorm’ by 2014, experts explore the worst that could happen If earth is hit by the same force as the worst recorded solar storm in history, 1859′s Carrington Event, it would be devastating Magnetic force could disrupt global communications and take out power sources, with huge financial consequences The sun is entering a two-year period of increased activity, with a peak due before 2014 … Continue reading

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Was Phobos downed by the Sun or a technical flaw?

Catastrophic Solar Flare Knocks Out Phobos?

Did a catastrophic Solar Flare knock out Russia’s Phobos satellite? The fall of Russia’s Phobos space probe might have been caused by a  solar flare, an intergovernmental commission reported to the Roskosmos state agency on Thursday. However, some experts have offered other versions of the crash. According to the commission, a cloud of plasma released during the November 4 solar flare remained active for the following 10 days and could have affected the probe’s launch. These experts believe that a technical or construction failure was … Continue reading

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Solar flare disrupts flight communication

2012 solar flare disrupts flight communication

2012 Solar flare disrupts flight communication — and lights up night sky by David B. Nelson Jan 25, 2012 While 2012 prophets may interpret Sunday’s [January 22, 2012] massive solar flare activity as a sign of doomsday, scientists say not to worry, especially if you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. But airlines are still urged to exercise caution. The flare was classified as a M8.7 Coronal Mass Ejection, a moderate event despite being called the biggest and strongest activity … Continue reading

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Solar Flare May Have Caused Fobos-Grunt Failure

solar flare Fobos-Grunt satellite crash 2012

2012 Solar Flare Eyed in Fobos Satellite Crash Moscow Times 27 January 2012 A powerful solar flare may have caused the failure of the Fobos-Grunt space probe that crashed this month, a space industry source told Interfax on Thursday. The device may have ended up in a cloud of plasma released during the solar event, and this is the main theory being considered by the commission investigating the probe’s technical failure, the source said. The commission investigating the failure has completed its work and will … Continue reading

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Solar flare space storm affects satellites and airlines

This image of the sun, captured by The Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft and dated January 28, 2011, shows nearly simultaneous solar eruptions on opposite sides of the Sun. (Image: NASA/Reuters)

January 22, 2012 Solar Flare causes significant radiation storm but experts say most communication systems are unaffected Radiation from the largest solar flare in more than six years shouldn’t adversely affect communications or technology for most people on earth, experts say. Doug Biesecker, a physicist at the US Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado, said that while the solar flare has caused problems for some GPS systems, airline communications systems and satellites over the past day or two, most people around the world won’t … Continue reading

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Solar storms may cause cellphones to drop calls

Solar Flare 2012 Cellphone catastrophe

On Sunday, January 22, 2012, a massive explosion on the sun known as a solar flare sent an ejection of some of the sun’s plasma hurtling toward earth at the ungodly speed of 1,000 kilometers…per second! No need to worry about being hit by flying sun plasma though — that will zoom right past Earth and race toward the edge of the solar system, according to Harlan Spence, principal investigator for the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar … Continue reading

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Crab Pulsar gamma rays baffle scientists

Crab Pulsar gamma ray source

Scientists say the Crab Pulsar is blasting out gamma rays at a higher rate than can be explained by current scientific models. It’s emitting the highest-energy gamma rays ever observed from a pulsar – a highly magnetized and rapidly spinning neutron star – at more than 100 billion electron volts. That’s more than 50 billion times more energy than the visible light from the sun. “This is the highest energy pulsar system ever detected,” said Rene Ong, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy and … Continue reading

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Strange emissions by sun are suddenly mutating matter

The angry sun For months mounting fear has driven researchers to wring their hands over the approaching solar storms. Some have predicted devastating solar tsunamis that could wipe away our advanced technology, others voiced dire warnings that violent explosions on the surface of the sun could reach out to Earth, breach our magnetic field, and expose billions to high intensity X-rays and other deadly forms of cancer-causing radiation. Now evidence has surfaced that something potentially more dangerous is happening deep within the hidden core of … Continue reading

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New Forecast: Sun’s ‘Superstorms’ Could Doom Satellites

One of the first images taken by SDO and still a favorite: A solar eruptive prominence as seen in extreme UV light on March 30, 2010. The superimposed image of the Earth gives a sense of just how large these eruptions can be.  CREDIT: NASA/SDO Magnetic storms set off by the sun could pose a bigger threat than thought to weather, communication, military and other satellites close to Earth, with a potentially devastating economic impact, scientists suggest. In the new study, researchers found that solar … Continue reading

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NASA spacecraft observes new characteristics of solar flares

A new assessment of solar flares by a team led by CU-Boulder indicates some are more powerful and last longer than scientists had previously thought, findings that have implications for mitigating damage by solar storms to navigation and communication systems on Earth. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is carrying a suite of instruments including a $32 million University of Colorado Boulder package, has provided scientists with new information that energy from some solar flares is stronger and lasts longer than previously thought. Using SDO’s Extreme … Continue reading

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