A third solar storm flared up Thursday, and power-grid operators are again bracing themselves for a potentially damaging geomagnetic storm, according to NOAA.The moderate storm conditions are expected to arrive on Earth Saturday and continue until Sunday, said the agency’s Space Weather Prediction Center. It’s the third flare from the sun that has power companies and grid operators bracing for the potentially disrupting space energy. The first hit on Monday, and the second on Wednesday. Those storms were graded “severe,” but ultimately proved to have minimal effects on the interconnectivity of the electric system. Worst-case scenarios have been feared with such solar activity, since a geomagnetic storm knocked out power for million along the U.S. – Canadian border in March 1989, through surges lasting just over 90 seconds. Such interstellar power threats are not new. Telegraph networks were knocked out by similar surges in 1859 and 1921, according to historical accounts.
CME Events It has been a long week. Thought you might enjoy reading how it ended. 73's Keith KG7QCK QRZ.com Thread: http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?484122-Space-Weather-Warning
Sorry, I forgot to include the link to the SWPC article. Anticipated CME Passes Quietly By The Earth published: Sunday, June 28, 2015 16:11 UTC A CME associated with the R2 (Moderate) Radio Blackout on 25 June glanced past the Earth early on 27 June, but did not cause geomagnetic storms as forecasters had predicted. The sunspot region that produced the event, NOAA AR 12371, is beginning to transit the west limb and forecasters are expecting low solar activity for the upcoming week. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/anticipated-cme-passes-quietly-earth
An excellent site to check for up to date info http://spaceweather.com/ Solar & geomagnetic forecasts updated at 22:00 UTC daily, Flare info updated as they happen and geomagnetic indices updated hourly
It has become known as the "Carrington Event". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859 Intense solar energy couples into the wires that carry the telegraph signals to an extreme intensity. It was reported some telegraph operators received electric shocks and some telegraph offices were actually set on fire.
IMO, The Electromagnetic energy spikes locked up the sounders that clack on the receiving ends. Voltage on the line operated the sounders. A constant voltage would cause the sounders to lock down, therefore being useless.
Ok, I am braced; so what, exactly am I bracing for? If there is no substance here, then the thread should be removed. 73 Chip W1YW
M1WML....correction, that was not a solar storm that took the power out on the US /Canada border but a tree limb that was so large and so tall that it took out the transmission tower line connected to the grid back in 1989. Then I went out to purchase a Generator to get back on line. hi hi Walton Hills Ohio was finally on the Map hi....73 de K8VEN
some operators could send and receive messages even after having disconnected the batteries because of the induced voltage in the lines .
Looks like we dodged the bullet--this time. The solar wind speed reached above 800 km/s early Saturday morning, however there has been no noteworthy increase in geomagnetic activity as of this update. The increased speed could be related to an interplanetary shockwave skirting past our planet. More updates later this morning. UPDATE: The geomagnetic storm watch has officially been cancelled. The CME observed on June 25th looks to have been directed too far to the west and is no longer expected to lead to increased geomagnetic activity. Speed of 800 km/s--could that generate a huge magnetic field? Going in one direction, could that induce common mode direct current on the power grid? You'd think it wouldn't get past the transformers--unless their insulation breaks down. Could ground loops come into play here?
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Strange, the c&p and my comments can only be seen by "highlighting" the whole post (With Win 7, just right-click, and sweep it). The link: http://www.solarham.net/ .
