Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Calling Mr. Carrington


On Thursday, February 24, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught this big ol' solar flare. It's an M 3.6 class flare, which is pretty impressive, albeit well below the X class.

I have a morbid fascination with solar flares. They are awesome expressions of cosmic power beyond human capacity. An event like the Solar Storm of 1859, the "Carrington Event", would mess up our modern communications something fierce. Of course, it could be even worse. Yikes!!!

This Pop Sci article has some more info.

Fortunately, it discharged away from Earth, so no electronic disruptions. That means we can enjoy this video worry and guilt free. Woo hoo!!!

No comments:

Post a Comment