Solar Flare Hampers Communications
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Nature has thrown another curveball at communications systems and power grids already pounded by Hurricane Katrina: Solar flares.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that it observed at 1:40 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday one of the largest solar flares on record.
"This event created a complete blackout of high frequency communications on the daylit side of Earth, which included the entire U.S. and basically anywhere the sun was shinning at this time," said Larry Combs, solar forecaster at the NOAA Space Environment Center.
"Communications used by emergency services along the Gulf Coast may have experienced problems due to this flare," he added.
A solar flare is a burst of magnetic energy released by the sun. If big enough, it can disrupt radio and voltage frequencies on Earth.
The Denver-based agency predicted "significant solar eruptions" are likely over the next two weeks and warned they could impact emergency radio bands essential to rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast, where Katrina destroyed much of the telephone and cell phone networks.
Solar flares can also affect operations on the power grid, whose exposed lines act as a vast antenna collecting the unwanted signals from the sun, causing voltage fluctuations that in extreme cases trigger circuit breakers designed to shut down the system to protect equipment from power surges.
Satellite communications and low-frequency navigation systems are also vulnerable to solar flares.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 8th September 2005
