After this year, the strongest flare on the Sun towards Earth ... - Gazeta Wyborcza

Solar Observatories registered the great flare on Tuesday after hours. 19 A few hours ago was dismissed Antares rocket launch, which was to reach a supply ship to the International Space Station. The upcoming rushing stream of particles from the Sun can interfere with the electronics of the rocket. Satellites for wokó?ziemskich orbits and space station itself are – according to NASA – safe, because their electronics have been specially designed to withstand elevated radiation levels. But unpleasant surprises are not excluded.

Source of flare and a plasma eruption was a group of spots numbered AR 1944, one of the largest, which appeared on the surface of the sun in the last decade. In this vast group of nearly 60 major and minor stains is true behemoth – stain with a diameter of up to 50 thousand. km, and thus four times greater than the diameter of the Earth. It is visible to the naked eye, but – beware! – You can look at the sun only through a suitable filter, because otherwise you can go blind.

Here are magnified portion of the solar disc with a group of stains AR 1944 (and the Earth – in the lower right corner – for size comparison) :

The spots are areas that have a slightly lower temperature than the rest of the solar surface (heated to an average of 5.5 thousand. ° C), and therefore appear darker. There is there for a stronger magnetic field – it does not allow it to sink b?blom plasma, which, like a pot of boiling water emerge from the depths of the star cools on its surface, and then back a ton. Under spots looped magnetic field lines a little longer maintain a plasma on the surface, so it remains cooler than the surroundings, where the circulation of matter continues without interruption.

It is important that the magnetic field of the spot is accumulated enormous energy, like through a compressed spring. Just change the configuration of the field to rapidly release it. It is then burst and ejection of solar plasma (consisting mainly of electrons and protons) into space. Such a phenomenon is called a “coronal mass ejection”. If the stain is just in the center of the solar disk, as is currently the AR 1944 is a cloud of plasma rushing straight at Earth.

Yesterday’s solar flare was classified as an X1.2, meaning it was one of the strongest. Yes it on Tuesday registered a NASA:

Our planet has a natural protection – its own magnetic field which can deflect a stream of charged particles from outer space, directing them towards the poles. This protective barrier can, however, be an infringement if the direction of the magnetic field of solar cloud is opposite that of the Earth’s field, because then they will cancel each other. Earth will remain so for a while without a sealed enclosure, allowing charged particles to penetrate into the atmosphere not only on the same poles, but also at lower latitudes.

Under the influence of cosmic bombardment of air molecules shine like gas neonówce painting on sky beautiful auroras, which sometimes can be seen also in Poland (oxygen molecules are lit in red and yellow, nitrogen, also in red, and hydrogen and helium give auroral color blue and purple).

thick layer of the atmosphere protects us quite effectively stops particles from space – at most during the solar storm jet passengers whose routes intersect areas of the Arctic, may be at somewhat higher doses of radiation (but probably not larger than normal X-ray).

NASA announced that the radiation level does not pose a danger for the six astronauts who at the moment are staying on the space station. In contrast, the plasma cloud disturb Earth’s magnetic field, a stream of charged particles can induce strong currents in Earth’s energy lines, which can overheat transformers.

One of the largest geomagnetic storms in 1989 for many hours deprived of all current Canadian province Quebec. Now that prevail in North America, the largest for years frosts, replay this situation could have dire consequences.