Solar storm to hit Earth today causing GPS and radio disruption
www.newsweek.com
A coronal mass ejection will trigger a geomagnetic storm, which can impact technology and cause the Northern Lights to be seen further south.

Solar Storm to Hit Earth Today Causing GPS and Radio Disruption::A coronal mass ejection will trigger a geomagnetic storm, which can impact technology and cause the Northern Lights to be seen further south.

  • ShdwdrgnEnglish
    311·
    11 months ago

    Absolutely nothing happened, we barely even got a rise in the Kp index.

    And what’s with all these fearmongering articles lately always claiming that a “massive” burst is gong to disrupt radios and GPS? Has anyone even seen this happen in recent history? I mean sure, if you get a burst strong enough to be seeing aurora as far south as Texas in the US then you might be getting into the region of affecting communications, but they keep pushing these warnings for solar bursts that aren’t even strong enough to trigger aurora over the continental US.

    • UnpopularCrow@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      11 months ago

      While I agree with the fear mongering on solar storms, it is quite common for radio disruptions and GPS interference from solar storms. HF radios used by airlines and HAM radio operators work by bouncing light waves off the bottom of the ionosphere (~ 100km). When storms hit, it rapidly heats this region up, which causes expansion downward. This results in the radio waves either being absorbed or reflecting at lower altitudes causing communication difficulties. GPS satellites work by bouncing light between a transmitter (the satellite) and a receiver (your car for example). Solar storms produce showers of additional electrons that interfere with the light waves between the satellite and ground based instrumentation. These are fairly common occurrences during moderate geomagnetic activity that happens frequently during solar maximum and even solar minimum. Large storms are much less frequent (maybe a handful of times during each solar maximum) and that’s when you get continental aurora and total radio blackouts.

    • gregorum@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      11 months ago

      I don’t really think this is a matter of “fear mongering”, just warnings of what might happen so people know what to expect. Thankfully, there wasn’t much disruption that we noticed. My Wi-Fi and cell phone signal has been especially crappy today, but that could be unrelated.

      Anyway, it’s not like the government had us all running into bunkers or anything. The articles I read simply warned of possible unreliability through the event.

      No biggie.

    • YeetPicsEnglish
      2·
      11 months ago

      And what’s with all these fearmongering articles lately always claiming that a “massive” burst is gong to disrupt radios and GPS?

      We’re approaching solar maximum and a repeat of the Carrington event would destroy SO much of our infrastructure. it makes sense to be aware of such events and their sources.