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| Solar flare erupts from giant sunspot | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 15 Jul 2012, 12:31 AM (42 Views) | |
| Audi-Tek | 15 Jul 2012, 12:31 AM Post #1 |
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Solar flare erupts from giant sunspot A huge solar storm — the second major flare to erupt from the Sun in less than a week — has triggered a coronal mass ejection which is expected to reach the Earth on Sunday, scientists have claimed. The powerful flare, unleashed yesterday, sent a wave of plasma toward Earth at a speed of about 1,400 km per second and it’s expected to reach the planet by 5 a.m. GMT (10.20 a.m. IST) on Sunday. While it may spark a minor geomagnetic storm, power stations, satellites and astronauts need not worry, the scientists said. Early warning system to detect solar radiation A system developed by scientists is capable of warning astronauts about radiation from solar storms nearly three hours in advance, says a study. “If you’re in a plane flying over the poles, there is an increased radiation exposure comparable to having an extra chest X-ray you weren’t planning on,” says John Bieber, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware Bartol Research Institute. “However, if you’re an astronaut on the way to the Moon or Mars, it is a big problem. It could kill you,” adds Bieber, who supervised the project led by Su Yeon Oh, post-doctoral researcher at Chungnam National University, South Korea, the International Journal of Research and Applications reported. Effects The sun is now moving into a peak period of solar storm activity, which generally occurs every 11 years. The solar storms, flares and coronal mass ejections threaten the electrical system on the Earth in addition to some astronauts and fliers. “Travelling nearly at the speed of light, it takes just 10 minutes for the first particles ejected from a solar storm to reach the Earth,” Bieber said, according to a university statement. These sun storms can cover thousands of miles on the sun, like a wave of exploding hydrogen bombs. The researchers used data collected by two neutron monitors installed years ago at the South Pole by Delaware — one inside and one outside the Amundsen—Scott South Pole Station — to determine the intensity of the high-energy, fast-moving particles that arrive to the Earth first from solar storms, said a university statement. These particles can carry energies over 500 megaelectron volts (MeV) — that’s over 500 million electron volts. By examining the properties of these first-arriving particles, the scientists can make useful predictions about the slower-moving, yet more dangerous particles to follow.IANS A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun's surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 x 1025 joules of energy. These are not visible from Earth's surface. Solar flares strongly influence the local space weather in the vicinity of the Earth. They can produce streams of highly energetic particles in the solar wind, known as a solar proton event, or "coronal mass ejection" (CME). These particles can impact the Earth's magnetosphere, and present radiation hazards to spacecraft, astronauts, and cosmonauts. The most powerful flare ever observed was in 1859. The event is named the Solar storm of 1859, or the "Carrington event". The flare was visible to a naked-eye. Source .................
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8:09 PM Jul 11