Today I read about Space Threats. Because 2020.
I was cleaning bookmarks. Came across weather.gov/safety/ National Weather Service Safety Tips.
You got Floods (ya), Lightning (nodding), Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. Feed me those tips.
But what was this? 1/12
I was cleaning bookmarks. Came across weather.gov/safety/ National Weather Service Safety Tips.
You got Floods (ya), Lightning (nodding), Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. Feed me those tips.
But what was this? 1/12
Safety Tips for Space Weather? Um, is space threatening us?
I clicked the link hoping for tips about alien invasion (everyone dress like a stormtrooper), space thunderstorms (beam/teleport to alternate hemisphere), asteroids (Roman Josi slap shot)?
2/
I clicked the link hoping for tips about alien invasion (everyone dress like a stormtrooper), space thunderstorms (beam/teleport to alternate hemisphere), asteroids (Roman Josi slap shot)?
2/
Instead the first thing you see are space weather victims
untethered space-exploring astronaut,
comically large satellite,
communications (gulp),
GPS (ruh),
aviation (roh),
electric power (ruh roh),
and the northern lights.
How, exactly? 3/
untethered space-exploring astronaut,
comically large satellite,
communications (gulp),
GPS (ruh),
aviation (roh),
electric power (ruh roh),
and the northern lights.
How, exactly? 3/
Our Sun is the enemy. It fires CMEs at Earth. "Eruptions of plasma and magnetic field structures from the sun's atmosphere, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and sudden bursts of radiation, called solar flares, can cause space weather effects . . . " 4/
If I read this in 2019, I stop reading. But this year I keep reading because duh.
"If a CME arrives at Earth, it can produce a geomagnetic storm, which, in turn, can cause anomalies and disruptions to the modern conveniences we have come to rely on." 5/
"If a CME arrives at Earth, it can produce a geomagnetic storm, which, in turn, can cause anomalies and disruptions to the modern conveniences we have come to rely on." 5/
"Power outages due to space weather are rare events, but evidence suggests that significant effects could occur. Significant power outages may have cascading effects, causing loss of: 6/
"Luckily, Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere do a great job of protecting us from the most hazardous effects."
Canada got CMEed 3/13/1989, 6 million lost power for 9 hours.
But, that was 31 years ago.
Then again, this is 2020.
7/
Canada got CMEed 3/13/1989, 6 million lost power for 9 hours.
But, that was 31 years ago.
Then again, this is 2020.
7/
Apparently, there is a Watch/Warning system for Space Threats. Except they've added a third category, the Alert, which means the space weather event has already started. And there are two categories of Watches and Warnings, the regular one, and a higher-level one. 8/
You can sign up for these alerts and I am not making them up (swpc.noaa.gov/content/subscr…): X-ray Flux Alert, Geomagnetic Storm Category (G1 thru G4), Electron Flux Alert, Proton Flux Warnings. 9/
So, what are the tips? What do we do?
"Prepare a hurricane emergency kit," it says.
10/
"Prepare a hurricane emergency kit," it says.
10/
The most extreme Geomagnetic storm is the G5, which "will not cause catastrophic damage to the electric grid. On average, the Earth is impacted by such storms about four times during every 11-year solar cycle...."
Oh.
11/
Oh.
11/
So, we probably have other things to worry about. For more on Space Weather, please don't ask us. For more, weather.gov/safety/space, and hit up an expert in the field. 12/12
