Sun releases an M9.4 class flare

Image Caption: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO, captured this image on the sun of an M9.4-class solare flare, which peaked at 8:30 pm EDT on Oct. 23, 2013.  The image displays light in the wavelenght of 131 Angstroms, which is good for viewing the intense heat of a solar flare and typically colored teal.  Credit: NASA/SDO

Yesterday evening the sun released a mid-level solar flare.  The flare emitted was a M 9.4 class flare, which falls in the higher range of M class flares.  These M class flares can cause brief blackouts at the polar regions.  It is important to note that although the sun has remained relatively quiet during its solar maximum that it is still active.  

The Car Conundrum if We Lose Power

I've seen a lot of internet chat lately regarding concerns whether modern cars would continue to function after a massive solar storm.  

If an event similar to the 1859 Carrington Event were to occur today, it is hard to predict how much damage it would do to our daily lives.  In 1859, society's impact was very isolated, mostly just a lot of curiosity owing to the immense area and brightness of the auroras.  At that time, the telegraph was the most technologically affected system.  The communication systems and operators experienced sparks and flames coming from the equipment.  

Today's society is much different, though.  We have become so dependent upon the technology which has seeped in to every aspect of our lives (home, work, and personal).  The power grids?  They are protected by the copper grounding wires which are being stripped by immoral and dishonest thieves.  Would they fail or manage to hold together with a massive surge in energy?  We buy gas with a credit card - which requires satellite transmissions  We use the GPS on our phones and in our cars - again, satellite transmissions. We watch television which is powered by the power grid.  We drink water brought to our apartments by water companies powered by the grid and taken away by sewage companies again powered by the grid.  We depend on truckers to transport our fresh fruit from states and countries far outside our reach.  Want a McDonald's cheeseburger?  Think again, Ronald don't work in dark restaurants.

There are so many unknowns in this scenario.

So, what is my advice on buying a car in case of a solar flare?

1.  If you buy a modern vehicle, especially an electrical model - there is a risk of fire or wire malfunction - with or without a CME.  

2.  If you buy an older vehicle to fix it up, do it as a hobby.  Why put so much time and money into something that may only end up leaving you stranded?  

3.  Along with point #2 - you must still consider the fuel consumption if rebuilding an older vehicle.  You don't want to build a car that guzzles gas.  If the gas pumps aren't running (because they, like everything else, don't work without the power grids), you would still want a conservative car.   

The moral of the story - it's all a conundrum.  There are so many what-if's in this scenario and it may or may not happen in our lifetime.  So my advice?  Prepare yourself and your family just in case something should happen.  Worry more about the necessities (food, water, protection, and a plan) than buying new cars or building cement bunkers.  This isn't just a good idea for the solar flare fanatics (though I might be considered one since I did write a novel about the post-solar flare world).  This is a good idea for everyone since natural disasters happen all the time across the globe.  It's just common sense.  

Now go get some water and non-perishable foods to get you and your family started.  

Power Outages

Blackout impacts millions in Canada and 7 U.S. states

It was ten years ago that the power outages struck Canada and several U.S. states.  This event impacted seven states and there were over 50 million people without power.  Although there have been some improvements made to our power systems since that time, we still suffer from frequent power surges and are at risk of solar flares impacting our grid system.  The flare that took down the Quebec grid cost 1.5 billion dollars in damages, with 250 million of that cost being from destroyed perishables.  The relatively 'small' occurrence that happened 10 years ago caused a relatively small blip in our world - what would happen if another Carrington Event occurred in today's world?  The impact on our society and economy would be incalculable.

Transportation comes to a halt

Gas stations unable to pump gasoline

M Class flare & huge CME on May 22

M Class flare followed by a huge CME (coronal mass ejection) on May 22.  Beautiful video!

Bring on 2022!

A Spacecraft is smashed into an enormous asteroid measuring 2,625 feet across.  (To put this in perspective,  a professional football field is 360 feet in length.)  Sounds like science fiction, right?  Well, guess again!  At a recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, the United States and the European Space Agency began planning to do just that.  They intend to send out a space probe to Asteroid Didymos and crash it into the oncoming rock.  Don't fear, however, the asteroid isn't on a trajectory towards our lovely planet - it will actually take three years for the probe to reach its target which will be 6.8 million miles from Earth.  They are hoping these impacts might break the asteroid apart and send it in alternate directions.  So bring on the year 2022 - I can't wait to see if this works!

Solar Flare Headed to Mars

A solar flare is headed for Mars, resulting in the Curiosity rover needing to be powered down.  Curiosity's little brother, Opportunity, is still functioning as normal on the red planet.  Unfortunately, Curiosity won't be able to sample the level of solar particles or retrieve a sample of the radiation that the solar flare is throwing at the planet.  

Literary Yoga?

Literary Yoga?

One of the most difficult things for me is to decide how to find balance.  Do I work on writing my next novel?  Do I spend time with my family?  Do I work on social media?  Or videos, covers, agents, even strange new tan lines?  Since I still love my day job, I’ve got to find ways to successfully divide my time between the things I have to do and the things I’d like to do. 

In my humblish opinion, being successful in today’s publishing world is much different and more complex than any other time in history.  It isn’t necessarily more difficult, as there are so many more venues to showcase authors, but the sheer numbers of authors, publishers, and sites sometimes make it more difficult to be noticed or ‘found’.  While I’ve had decent success as an Indie writer, my goal has always been to become a well-recognized author around the world.  As the party planners for the ‘Historically Famous Author’ parties don’t necessarily care whether my wife and grandmother really love my work, it is important to have a successful platform to build upon. 

So, is it more important to work on my writing, my platform, my family, or my mastery of the Fallen Dog yoga positions?  I wish I could say that I use every moment in pursuit of either happiness or success, but the truth is that I probably waste just as much as I spend fruitfully. Since I have a dream, but live within the real world where I’m only given 24 hours a day and hopefully another 40 years of life, my belief is that I have to find a balance (and not the Sleeping Dog kind) that will help me find both happiness and success.

I try to give the taxpayers (who happen to still be willing to pay my monthly bills) an honest day’s work everyday.  I try to spend quality time with my wife and three daughters.  I try to get the proper amount of sleep, relaxation, and exercise (though I seem to fail on all three more than any other area in my life).  I try to keep up with platform building and social media.  AND, I try to make every minute of my writing time count. 

For those of you who want to succeed in today’s publishing world, my suggestion is to find a way to practice some form of Literary Yoga.  Spend time with your job, your family, your platform building, and your writing.  Don’t let any of them overwhelm the other, but never neglect any of them either.

Dystopian Trailer

Sharing a video to the trailer of Pyrolysis.  Enjoy!

Solar Flares Make Music

Science never ceases to amaze me.  Scientists are able to take the sounds from the sun and form a compilation that resembles the sound of music - not the Julie Andrews type though.  It's fascinating that they are able to take these sounds and understand the sun's own language.  

New Gamma Burst that Impacted Earth Discovered



A new discovery of an enormous explosion in space, sending out high levels of radiation is believed to have impacted earth during the rule of Emperor Charlemagne, between 774 and 775 AD.  Scientists have discovered this impact by studying the rings in cedar trees, which point that this phenomena occurred during medieval times.  This explosion is not believed to have been caused by our own sun, but more likely a collision between two stars or two black holes that were inside our own Milky Way galaxy.  These newly discovered tree rings have given scientists their best ‘guess’ at what might have occurred during that era. 

 

Super Solar Storm Impact

A solar super storm usually occurs every 100 to 200 years.  The largest super storm on record was in 1859 and is referred to as the Carrington Event.  During this time, the technological reliance was nothing like we have today.  In 1859, Europe and North America experienced telegraph communication outages and some reports even consist of fires starting from the heat that flowed through the lines. 

 

A massive solar storm today would have an impact on electricity grids, satellites, aircraft, GPS, and mobile devices. The increased electric currents caused by the geomagnetic storms can cause instability in the power grid systems causing them to crash.  Satellites are at the front line of solar storms; some of our older satellites may take the brunt of such a flare and could have residual effects long after the event.  Many of the satellites have been designed to withstand a large majority of the solar extremes.  That being said, it is difficult to effectively predict what will happen if a major storm like the 1859 event. occurred today.  Additionally, the GPS systems, navigation systems, and aircraft could be impacted with the secondary particles and wreak havoc on the delicate systems. 

DA14 Asteroid Set to Pass Remarkably Close to Earth on Friday

I have posted a link about the asteroid DA14 that will pass remarkably close to earth on Friday, February 15th.  Bring out the binoculars or your telescopes to witness the event!

End of the World as We Know It

 

For those of you who are experience ‘doomsday phobia’, don’t feel as though you are alone.  There seem to be three categories of individuals when it comes to the end of the world as we know it – those who are cheering it on, those who fear it, and those who think it’s all a bunch of malarkey.  I personally fall into the first category and say ‘bring it on’!  I’ve got my bug-out-bag prepped and ready to go.  I want to challenge myself and see if I can live off the grid.  However, the Mayan’s predictions were slightly incorrect (or maybe those reading it didn’t understand the date), but there is hope for those who were cheering it on.  Museum of Discovery’s Science After Dark is bringing information on how the end could actually occur.  For those of you who are fearful of the end – ‘after dark’ has you covered!  There will be a cash bar available at this event so you are able to soothe your nerves with some ‘liquid calm’ of your choice!  Check it out if you can!

Geomagnetic storm expected in 1-3 days





NASA released a statement that the sun released a solar flare today.  This solar flare is expected to cause a geomagnetic storm on earth in the next 1-3 days due to its speed of 600 kilometers per hour. 



January 27 Coronal Mass Ejection

Sun Fact of the Day

The sun contains 99.85% of the mass in the solar system.

 

 

Light Show?

There is a 55% chance that we can expect a magnetic storm sometime tomorrow on January 20.  A CME (coronal mass ejection) left the sun on January 16.  Expect a magnificent aurora light show!