Neave Planetarium

[lumberjim]

Very cool site

[skysidhe]

very cool site

I have a couple planetarium sites bookmarked myself.

[lumberjim]

Batten down the hatches and head for the hills! NASA reports that a Coronal Mass Ejection event, that’s a large solar storm, is headed for the Earth. Orbital satellites and observatories have detected a huge solar flare caused by a geomagnetic storm on the Sun on Sunday, ejecting a massive wave of gas and particles into space. This solar tsunami been rated as a C3-class event and originates from Sunspot 1092, which is currently facing the Earth. What does this mean to you?

Well, for starters, if you are a sky-gazer, you can expect to see some increased Northern Lights between August 3 -4. Many may be able to see the starry wonder further south than usual. The Northern Lights, a.k.a. the Aurora Borealis, is normally seen only in the higher latitudes and is caused by the collision of our Sun’s solar wind upon the Earth’s magnetic field. They often appear as shimmering green curtains of light, dancing in the heavens.
Not a sky-gazer? Well, if you use a cell phone or watch TV, which, I’m assuming most of you do, then you may notice interference and disruptions in your service the next couple of days. A strong solar flare such as this one caused by the coronal mass ejection event can harm electronic equipment, including communication satellites in orbit. Even you cable users may notice problems as most cable providers depend on satellites to distribute their programs. Such solar tsunamis differ from the solar wind, which is the constant ejection of the Sun’s matter as it burns it’s mass of hydrogen gas through nuclear fusion.
Our Sun goes through 11-year cycles of activity. During a solar maximum, there is an increase in sunspots on the surface on the Sun. These are where solar flares erupt from. The last solar maximum was in 2001. In the last few years we have been in the solar minimum, where there is hardly any sunspots. In fact, the past few years have seen extremely few sunspots. Solar flares and solar tsunamis are caused by coronal mass ejection consists of a geomagnetic storm causing super-hot gases traveling at speeds of around one-million miles per hour. Two new NASA satellites known as SOHO are positioned to provide us with an early warning of such events.
Many scientists see a direct link between sunspot activity and the Earth’s climate. Given the size and power of our Sun, it effects our climate far more than any other cause often attributed to global warming and climate change. The recent years of cool temperatures does seem to be linked with the lack of sunspot activity.
With the Sun returning to a solar maximum period, we can expect to see more coronal mass ejections, or large solar storms, over the next few years, peaking in 2013. NASA has satellites in space to give us warning. As the number and size of sunspots increase on the Sun’s surface, so too does the frequency of these solar flare events. The upcoming solar tsunami is expected to be quite strong making it a geomagnetic storm to be concerned with.

[glatt]

Many scientists see a direct link between sunspot activity and the Earth’s climate. Given the size and power of our Sun, it effects our climate far more than any other cause often attributed to global warming and climate change. The recent years of cool temperatures does seem to be linked with the lack of sunspot activity.

You didn't find this on a science website, did you?

They don't know the difference between "effect" and "affect." And then they steer right into the political crap.

But it's true that there is a good chance of seeing the northern lights tonight in areas where they aren't normally visible.

[classicman]

Very Cool Jim - Ima gonna git out'n looksee

Originally Posted by glatt

They don't know the difference between "effect" and "affect." And then they steer right into the political crap.

Damn liberal educations ...

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by glatt

You didn't find this on a science website, did you?

They don't know the difference between "effect" and "affect." And then they steer right into the political crap.

But it's true that there is a good chance of seeing the northern lights tonight in areas where they aren't normally visible.

Butt yew don'ts gotta be smarts too now that, I dunno, i've herd.

[lumberjim]

no.... a friend at work told me about it, so I just did a quick google to get a link.. I didn't even read it. just wanted to point out the potential light show tonight.

edit: i just realized that came from a site called rightpundits. damn. sorry about that.

just look up tonight!

[glatt]

Thanks for the tip. I put it on facebook. I know a lot of people up North who may be able to see it.

The first time I saw the northern lights, I was confused. I thought they were bright city lights over the horizon, except I knew there was no city there. Then as I watched, the light would reach out more in some ares and retract a little in others. After that (when I lived in Maine) I'd look up often and sometimes see the lights because I knew what to look for then.

I just sent a pm to Brianna. If she gets the message in time, she can probably see them on the dark lake she's on in Maine.

[HungLikeJesus]

Ah, you kids, with all your facebooks and pms and whatnot...

[ZenGum]

Glatt gets PMS?

Politics aside, this is a modest size solar storm. A biggie could really mess us up. They can be strong enough to overwhelm the Earth's magnetic field. In the long term this is bad for living things. In the short term it can destroy all unshielded computer circuitry.
Our transport, communication, power, bank, food supply ... and all the factories that could make replacement circuits ... fried.

Oh yeah the next solar maximum is expected in 2012. Just sayin.

[glatt]

I was looking for pictures of this thing. And it looks like about an hour north of Toronto they could see the northern lights. They were not as spectacular as they can be.