By WEATHER WORLD on Jun 9, 2011, at 6:45 PM Updated on 6/10 at 9:40 AM
WEATHER WORLD
At the cookout I went to Sunday evening, it was tank top, cutoff jean shorts and flip flops. My friend said to me, “you look ...
This blog was inspired by some of our early morning commenters on the weather forecast story .
Yes, as one of you pointed ...
The deluge earlier this month was exciting. For a second, I though that maybe the near-record parched May was just a fluke ...
Image courtesy of the Solar Dynamics Observatory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Houston.
While this blog is focused mostly on weather on our planet, I hope you'll indulge me as I look past the clouds for a little bit of spectacular space weather.
Scientists were shocked by this massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun Tuesday. The solar flare shot an incredibly large amount of material into space, the likes of which has rarely been seen--if ever.
Video of the event, narrated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Dr. C. Alex Young, shows the enormity of the CME. His excited narration should put into some perspective how rare and beautiful this event is.
Not only were scientists amazed by the massive amount of particles ejected from the sun, but that a large portion fell back to the surface. Truly a rare and beautiful event.
And an event that could affect us here on Earth.
The National Weather Service's
Space Weather Prediction Center said Wednesday that the particles will hit Earth with a "glancing blow." Which is good. Direct hits can have a calamitous effect on satellites and power lines on earth.
The only major effect Earth will see this time is some increased activity in the auroras at the planet's poles.
But the sun is entering a period of increased activity, so events like this and some which are stronger will start happening with some more frequency. The sun will hit the peak of its 11-year cycle in late 2013 or 2014.
-- Jerry Wofford
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