> SWPC Forecasters have issued G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watches for 04-06 October due to a pair of coronal mass ejections that are anticipated to arrive over the course of the next three UTC days. Stay tuned for updates as we monitor this activity!
> The solar flare emanated from the sunspot group AR3842, which has made headlines before. On Oct. 1, the same sunspot region fired off a powerful X7.1 solar flare and unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a plume of plasma and magnetic field — which is currently barreling toward Earth. That incoming CME is expected to hit Earth between Oct. 3 and Oct. 5, possibly triggering widespread auroras.
I actually just saw an aurora for the first time in my life a few months ago in Oregon, where they're hardly ever visible. It was quite a sight. Maybe I'll get to see them again.
Holy cow that's an insane website design. So, where exactly do I see the tracking? Is it below the grift of a 3D printed moon? Is it near the ads for casinos. Or maybe the mood rings?
This isn't a bitch about ads. It's I honestly cannot easily find the actual information the site is supposedly hosting.
I spent way too long trying to find basic info before I gave up on that site. The two questions I was hoping to see:
1. When will it be the strongest
2. What latitudes should expect to see auroras.
That site design is awesome. That level of information density is exactly what makes a good site. The information is right in the front, ads are off to the side. It's basically like a newspaper. Which is great for information.
My 'local' page is [1] which is fairly simple but likely has only the information you're interested in, nothing else and none of that side-scrolling bullshit you need to do to see the forecasts on the https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ page.
There's an information/status bar on the left. There's a header on top with important info/ current events. Then it's kind of in blogpost format. And if you ever want to know what info was there last year, there's an archive viewer on the top right, that actually shows the page just like it was, at any date!
As long as you're not in space you should be fine. If you are on the ISS, then you have some other experts you can consult, us randos on HN won't be able to help you much.
More serious answer: No risk for people, not even astronauts based on the current projections for the associated solar radiation storm (beyond the normal increased exposure they get up there). We'll almost certainly all have some trouble with GPS this weekend, and the folks maintaining satellites will have their hands full. Other RF systems will be disrupted at times this weekend.
Yes but you have to be an astronout in the outer space without enough added protection for the increase of radiation. Or maybe some increased exposure for high altitude flights near the poles. Other than that earth's atmosphere would make it that not enough exposure will reach the surface of the earth. Well things would be different for indirect harm because of satellite and signal failures. They could even cause disruption for power grid. But I think most of the protection for these systems in place take solar flares into account. So probably the effects will be minimal.
If we ever colonise Mars, will the colonies be more or less vulnerable to solar flares than Earth? Not that I know anything this subject, but my understanding is that Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, and no magnetosphere. Would that make solar flares more dangerous? Or would the colonists be protected by whatever habitat is protecting them from everything else on Mars?
What about electronic equipment that sits outside the human-habitable zones? Could it be fried by a solar flare that would be relatively harmless on Earth?
It's my understanding that a Carrington event would destroy the bulk of the electrical grid on the side of earth facing the sun at the time. But would be pleased to hear how I'm wrong!
Readit News
No warnings on PJM grid dashboard.
Probably not going to be a problem.
[1] https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
> SWPC Forecasters have issued G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watches for 04-06 October due to a pair of coronal mass ejections that are anticipated to arrive over the course of the next three UTC days. Stay tuned for updates as we monitor this activity!
I actually just saw an aurora for the first time in my life a few months ago in Oregon, where they're hardly ever visible. It was quite a sight. Maybe I'll get to see them again.
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast
This isn't a bitch about ads. It's I honestly cannot easily find the actual information the site is supposedly hosting.
The first question is answered by: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-forecast (Strongest at Fri 2100-0000 UTC)
https://www.w6rz.net/netscape.png
[1] https://www.sws.bom.gov.au/
https://xkcd.com/2979/
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
More serious answer: No risk for people, not even astronauts based on the current projections for the associated solar radiation storm (beyond the normal increased exposure they get up there). We'll almost certainly all have some trouble with GPS this weekend, and the folks maintaining satellites will have their hands full. Other RF systems will be disrupted at times this weekend.
and then he did it anyway
What about electronic equipment that sits outside the human-habitable zones? Could it be fried by a solar flare that would be relatively harmless on Earth?
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