Solar Storms: The Threat To Planet Earth

terça-feira, 13 de março de 2012

Solar Storms: The Threat To Planet Earth

There is a new kind of weather to worry about, and it comes from our nearest star.

Scientists are expecting a fit of violent activity on the sun which will propel billions of tonnes of superheated gas and pulses of energy towards our planet. They have the power to close down our modern technological civilization - e.g. in 1989, a solar storm cut off the power to the Canadian city of Quebec.

Horizon meets the space weathermen who are trying to predict what is coming our way, and organizations like the National Grid, who are preparing for the impending solar storms.

{Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d99vb}

- NOAA* Space Weather Scale:

* for Geomagnetic Storms

* for Solar Radiation Storms

* for Radio Blackouts

{Source: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales/index.html}