Most intense solar storm in 50 years coming.

[Mech]

Most intense solar storm in 50 years coming.

Straight from the horse'smouth.........



science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm

'This week researchers announced that a storm is coming--the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. The prediction comes from a team led by Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). "The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one," she says. If correct, the years ahead could produce a burst of solar activity second only to the historic Solar Max of 1958.'

[Mech]

April 27, 2007 3:14 PM PDT
Solar storm warning: You have a year to prepare
Posted by Harry Fuller

The federal government now predicts a new cycle of solar storms will start in March 2008. Those storms are expected to peak around the end of 2011. That's the conclusion of some scientists at NOAA.

Solar storms lead to violent eruptions on the sun's surface. There'll be solar flares and explosions sending highly charged matter toward Earth's atmosphere. This jolts Earth's geomagnetic field and ionosphere. That can lead to disruption of electric grids and communications systems.

Sunspot predictions for this coming storm cycle run from 90 to 140. There were different prediction models among the scientists and that led to disagreement over how strong the next solar storm cycle might be. Stick around, we'll find out.