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Northern Lights to be visible from Britain-Communications may be Threatened!
Many of us realize the association of our sun’s behavior on the planets captive to the solar system. The sun is by no means a static entity and in fact moves through periods of high and low solar activity. By default the planets are variously impacted by solar discharge a phenomena having absolute effect on the planets “weather” systems including our own.
For over a century humankind has placed their energy requirement into the “electricity” basket without much thought about what electricity is or how stable the characteristics of it are. Having short-term memory and a very short study period of sun behavior and the effects it may have upon “electrical” devices we are probably lulled into a sense of false security in this regard. We may live to rue the day we collectively assumed “electrical” energy is a fool-proof energy source.
Prior to out recent advancements in employing electrical energy for almost all of our communications, domestic and industrial energy needs the errant characteristics of the sun and it’s effect on electrical devices had no or little concern, in 2011–that is very, very different.
Science admits it has no idea at all what the fundamental “nature” of electricity is! Was it prudent to grow such a huge dependency on a “feature” we have no knowledge of? Perhaps we will find out shortly if the sun undergoes a huge disturbance and shoots a massive flare in the general direction of earth. Coronal Mass Ejections are proven to wreak havoc on electrical devices and infrastructure yet authorities and industry have made no attempt to harden electrical and communications device against such an eventuality.
Perhaps this recent discharge will serve as a reminder concerning the fallibility of our technology.
Spectacular Northern Lights displays wil be visible from northern Britain from tonight as a result of a large solar storm, the British Geological Society (BGS) said.
3:47AM GMT 17 Feb 2011
Scientists are warning that the eruption of the largest solar flare in four years will also disrup communications.
“Since February 13 three energetic solar flares have erupted on the sun and spewed clouds of charged plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) out towards the earth,” a BGS geomagnetic storm warning said.
“Already one CME arrived on the 14th sparking Valentine’s Day displays of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) further south than usual.
“Two CMEs are expected to arrive in the next 24-48 hours and further…displays are possible some time over the next two nights if skies are clear.”
The strongest solar storm in four years is expected to interfere with satellites and electrical networks, with astronomers in southern China already reporting disturbances to radio communications.
Perhaps this episode will be no more than pretty Northern lights… we can only hope I suppose.
Beyond hope is awareness and preparation… it is all about choices I suppose.
Stay tuned…
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