Solar Weather

On Sunday January 22, 2012 forcasters say that a blast from the sun should strike a glancing blow at the Earth's magnetic field. This will create a mild geomagnetic storm. I found this article to be very interesting and important to know about our Earth. Especially how there have been predictions about 2012, not that I am a believer in those predictions. But it is good to know about what is going on up in space, and what that environment is like. 


The blast is known as a coronal mass ejection, seen from space by the sun-watcing spacecraft on Thursday. NASA said that the impact on Earth would be felt on sunday (today) at about 10:00pm Eastern Time, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's  Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado say that it won't come till later.  This electric storm is non-threatening to our planet. Joe Kunches, a space scientist says that it might be going to the North of the Earth, than right at us. 


With news like this, it is understandable why people would want to know if anything from space that is heading to Earth is threatening or if our planet is in Danger. That was my first thought of when looking at the image and reading the title of the article. I don't know much about science and what goes on in space, but I do care about our Earth and like to think that all this talk of what is to come in 2012 is just talk, and something for people to make money off of with their books.  


The Center has made a prediction that on Monday "bulk of the disturbance" will happen. The storm will be a G1, which is the lowest ranking on the geomagnetic activity scale. storms that are in this ranking produce weak fluctuations in electrical grids and minor effects on satellite operations. Because this is in the lowest ranking on the scale, these effects are nothing to worry about. What will also happen with this storm is the bright northern lights that will be seen farther south. 




http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10207087-solar-weather-sparks-super-sights