Solar News

August 18th, 1999

Researchers are forecasting that the sun soon will enter the most violent part of its 11-year cycle, with the worst expected to begin in January, when computers may be struggling to cope with problems caused by the Y2K bug.

Severe solar storms erupting with massive bursts of magnetic energy and radiation are expected to continue at their peak until April.

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections - explosions that can equal a million 100 megaton bombs - send waves of energy that can cause power blackouts, block radio communications and trigger phantom commands capable of sending satellites spinning out of orbit.

Cell phones and global positioning signals are particularly at risk, experts yesterday told the American Astronomical Society.

There were two pieces of good news: The solar cycle is not expected to be as severe as some in the past, and, for the first time, there may be warning, thanks to a government satellite that will detect impending bursts and send about an hour's alert, said JoAnn Joselyn of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That warning, posted on the Internet and relayed through a special system, will give power companies time to align circuits to minimize or avoid damage, she said. Satellite operators can power down equipment or prepare to send corrective signals to their spacecraft.

Scientists have plotted 23 solar cycles, but this may be the most disruptive ever because much of the vulnerable communications technology now in use is untestednew, Joselyn said.

She said cell phones are vulnerable because they may use the ionosphere - the region of electrically charged gases in the upper atmosphere - to send radio signals, and solar bursts can disturb the ionosphere. Some cell phone systems depend on satellites that are at risk, too. Solar energy eruptions can cause warm air to surge up from the Earth. That can drag some satellites to lower orbits, forcing satellite operators to use rocket fuel to reposition the spacecraft.

Worldwide navigation for ships and airplanes relies heavily on the Global Position Satellite system, which uses satellites that can be affected by the sun, said Joselyn. "I am worried about the GPS more than anything else," she said. "We're starting to land airplanes with that system now."

August 14th, 1999

Fun in the sun? Then cover up!

By: Laurie Los - Special to The Washington Post

Despite known skin-cancer risks, only one in three Americans protect themselves against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.

To raise awareness of skin-cancer prevention, the U.S. Centers for Disease Controla nd Prevention's "Choose Your Cover" campaign suggests five easy steps.

The CDC recommends seeking shade during peak hours, covering skin with cloothing, protecting the head with a wide-brim hat, weating sunglasses that block ultraviolet rays and using sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.

Fo more information, visit the campaign's website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ChooseYourCover

August 10th, 1999

"To witness a total eclipse of the Sun is a privilege that comes to but few people. Once seen, however, it is a phenomenon never to be forgotten. The black body of the Moon standing out ... in sinister relief between Sun and Earth, the sudden outflashing glory and radiance of the pearly corona which can be seen at no other time, the scarlet prominences rising from the surface of the hidden Sun to heights of many thousand miles, the unaccustomed presence of the brighter stars and planets in the daytime, the darkness of twilight and the unusual chill in the air. There is something in it all that affects even the strongest nerves and it is almost with a sigh of relief that we hail the return of the friendly Sun."
Isabel M. Lewis, 1924
A Handbook of Solar Eclipses

Webcast Info
Starting at 3:00 a.m. Pacific/ 6:00 a.m. Eastern/ 10:00 a.m. UT/GMT on August 11th, join us for live reports from points across Europe courtesy of NASA. To view the webcast choose the server closest to you under the "Real Time Audio and Video" list.

NASA Links to Eclipse Images
Pick the Server closest to you

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
  http://class1a.sewp.nasa.gov:10000/Gallery/

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
  http://class1b.sewp.nasa.gov:10000/Gallery/

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
  http://class1c.sewp.nasa.gov:10000/Gallery/

• NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
  http://eclipse99.ksc.nasa.gov/Gallery/

• NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
  http://omni.ksc.nasa.gov/Gallery/

Real Time Audio and Video
Pick the Server closest to you

• NASA Ames Research Center, California, USA
  
• NASA Ames Research Center, California, USA
  
• NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
  
• NASA Johnson Space Center, Texas, USA
  
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
  
• NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA
  
• NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohio, USA
  
• Center for Educational Technologies, West Virgina, USA
  

Real Time Image/Data Display
Pick the Server closest to you

• NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
• NASA Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland, USA

          
          

©Copyright 1998 Elizabeth Beckett, Holly Bernitt, and Vishwa Chandra.