Solar Cycle

[say what]

It took 10 years to create this image of our changing Sun. Taken from space by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), it shows a dramatically different picture than the one we receive on Earth.

From Earth’s surface, we are treated to a biased view. Every day our world is bathed in the Sun’s light and heat, and at these visible and infrared wavelengths our luminary shines to within a fraction of a percent of the same energy every day.

At ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths, this is not true. Launched in 1995, SOHO has been continuously monitoring the Sun since then, in part to study this variation. Back in 2006, one image for each year of the mission until then was chosen and displayed in this montage.

The bright parts of these images correspond to gas in the Sun’s atmosphere at a temperature of about 2 million degrees Celsius.

Unlike visible light, the intensity of the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun varies greatly. This variation becomes more pronounced the shorter the wavelength, especially in the X-ray region of the spectrum. This is governed by solar activity, which runs in an approximately 11-year cycle. It is linked to the generation of the Sun’s magnetic field although our precise understanding of this mechanism remains elusive.

The waxing and waning of cycle-23, counted since 1755 when systematic record-taking began, can be seen clearly in this image. At its peak in 2001, the Sun was a maelstrom of activity, releasing about 10 times more ultraviolet light than at the minimum periods that can be seen in 1996 and 2006.

Now in cycle-24, the Sun is again at a peak of activity, although it is milder than that of 2001.

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/03/Solar_cycle

I think this is a neat article (and thought you spacey people [MENTION=10289]Rift Zone[/MENTION]) would like it..
but...
I just don't understand why.
I'm sure this information is useful...but I wish they would tell us why!

 

[Rift Zone]

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/03/Solar_cycle

I think this is a neat article (and thought you spacey people @Rift Zone) would like it..
but...
I just don't understand why.
I'm sure this information is useful...but I wish they would tell us why!

That is pretty cool!! The sun doesn't spin like a solid ball like earth does. The equator of the sun revolves much faster than the poles do. Over time that ties up the magnetic fields and does weird things to them. (That phenomena creates sunspot activity as it progresses. Some have likened sunspots to Birkeland currents -essentially, plasma filaments. Seems rather likely to me.) After a while, the magnetic fields get too crazy and the whole thing short-circuits. The entire magnetic field of the sun will fritz out. When it does, it swaps the poles of its magnetic field and starts the process anew. The whole cycle takes about 11 years. In 11 years from now, the sun's magnetic poles will be reverse from what they are now! Cool, huh?

Earth does the same thing, only on a much slower time scale. It take hundreds of thousands of years for earth to reverse its magnetic field. And "Mystery Spots" are sunspots.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Information is useful because the right solar activity could destroy most of the power grid on earth sending us back into the stone age. Perhaps permanently.

 

[Rift Zone]

Information is useful because the right solar activity could destroy most of the power grid on earth sending us back into the stone age. Perhaps permanently.

M-Class solar flares are fairly common. They make for a good aurora but they often don't hurt much. X-class solar flares put out enough energy to disrupt satellites and they can take out power grids. Precautions are built into sattelites. We can shut down critical systems we know something is coming. The worse that will happen to our power networks it blow some transformers and power stations. A major one could cripple major portions of global power networks but I doubt that type of event would send us back to the Stone Age.

 

[Eventhorizon]

NATGO article

Of particular concern are disruptions to global positioning systems (GPS), which have become ubiquitous in cell phones, airplanes, and automobiles, Baker said. A $13 billion business in 2003, the GPS industry is predicted to grow to nearly $1 trillion by 2017.

In addition, Baker said, satellite communications—also essential to many daily activities—would be at risk from solar storms.

“Every time you purchase a gallon of gas with your credit card, that’s a satellite transaction,” he said.

But the big fear is what might happen to the electrical grid, since power surges caused by solar particles could blow out giant transformers. Such transformers can take a long time to replace, especially if hundreds are destroyed at once, said Baker, who is a co-author of a National Research Council report on solar-storm risks.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Cliver agrees: “They don’t have a lot of these on the shelf,” he said.

A recent New York Times article…

A powerful solar (or “geomagnetic”) storm has the potential to simultaneously damage multiple transformers in the electricity grid and perhaps even bring down large sections of it, affecting upwards of a hundred million people in the United States for many months, if not years.

These huge transformers are expensive and difficult to replace, and not many are stockpiled in the United States for an emergency. In the worst case, the impact would be devastating: An outage could cost a few trillion dollars, with full recovery taking years. Not only would parts of the grid be compromised, but telephone networks, undersea cables, satellites and railroads also would be affected.

A 2008 National Academy of Sciences study warned that “because of the interconnectedness of critical infrastructures in modern society,” the “collateral effects of a longer-term outage” would likely include “disruption of the transportation, communication, banking and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration.”.

ALL downplayed...

 

[Eventhorizon]

So scientists begged prodded pleaded and finally convinced the government to put money towards sun research. You know its in our backyard and directly effects all life on earth, you think it would be a no brainer. Even now though they move slowly, like molasses to do any thing to protect the energy infrastructure. Why? Because it costs money for no immediate recognized return. They arent going to win an election off it.

Better hope the sun behaves on its own.

 

[say what]

Thanks guys!

I guess I didn't see the link of looking at the cycle of the sun (it's pretty) and the outcomes you mentioned- but they make sense!

 

[Eventhorizon]

[video=youtube;HN7I9KQjVG8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HN7I9KQjVG8[/video]

Beautiful really.

 

[Rift Zone]

So scientists begged prodded pleaded and finally convinced the government to put money towards sun research. You know its in our backyard and directly effects all life on earth, you think it would be a no brainer. Even now though they move slowly, like molasses to do any thing to protect the energy infrastructure. Why? Because it costs money for no immediate recognized return. They arent going to win an election off it.

Better hope the sun behaves on its own.

Half our (US) bridges are falling apart too! US government got all the power they desired by governing the most advanced and empowered people on the planet. And that's how it's done! Control the most empowered people=having the most power. But no, our governance rather scrape more off of us than we can sustain. -Reduce investment in our education, infrastructue and everything else so they can make a quicker buck today... When they should empower us to make sure their cash cow always pays. Idiot leadership.


I suppose society might be susceptible to going under if the event is big enough. If the event wipes out more than we can handle in a reasonable time then ya, bad things could happen. It seems like the difference between annoyance and collapse could be a fine line.

 

[Eventhorizon]

I dont know why they have this guy talking on TV. He is one of the worst talkers I have heard on media in general. But the point comes across
[video]http://video.foxnews.com/v/3418293683001/solar-flare-causes-brief-radio-blackout/?playlist_id=1821663211001#sp=show-clips[/video]

 

[sprinkles]

Information is useful because the right solar activity could destroy most of the power grid on earth sending us back into the stone age. Perhaps permanently.

That kind of thing can't send us to the stone age because we have knowledge.

Think of playing a roguelike game. Incredibly hard and you will die/lose a lot. But because you as the player retain knowledge of the game, even though you have to start over it really isn't starting from nothing. You now know more about the meta game than you previously did which can change how well you progress.

 

[88chaz88]

That kind of thing can't send us to the stone age because we have knowledge.

Think of playing a roguelike game. Incredibly hard and you will die/lose a lot. But because you as the player retain knowledge of the game, even though you have to start over it really isn't starting from nothing. You now know more about the meta game than you previously did which can change how well you progress.

You don't even have to start over. Just repair the damn powerstation! We'd be back to normal in a few days.

 

[Cornerstone]

Shit is going to go down in 2023...I'd better make a bug-out bag.