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Thursday March 29, 01:14 PM

Giant sunspot may explode

By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse

Scientists are currently observing the largest sunspot seen on the surface of our star for more than a decade.

Researchers think it could lead to a powerful flare some time in the next day or so. If this explosive event does occur, it will liberate in just a few seconds more energy than mankind has ever used.

The sunspot group, designated Noaa 9393, was first seen a month ago when it was not nearly so large.

The Sun's rotation took it from view but when it reappeared a few days ago astronomers were amazed that it had grown so big.

Over the past 24 hours it has become unstable displaying signs that its pent-up energy is about to be explosively released.

Monster spot

The sunspot is a monster according to Joe Elrod of the US National Solar Observatory at Sacramento, California: "This is the first big one we have seen during this solar cycle," he told BBC News Online.

Every 11 years or so the Sun goes through a peak of activity when there are more sunspots on its surface. Solar observers say that 2001 is the year of the current peak.

Noaa 9393 is so large that it is even visible to the unaided eye, though astronomers say that under no circumstances should anyone without proper protective equipment ever look towards the our star as blindness can result.

Sunspots are regions of the Sun's surface that are marginally cooler than their surroundings. They only appear dark by contrast. If they were alone they would shine brighter than an arc lamp.

The 'big one'

They are caused when intense magnetic fields rise up from below the Sun's visible surface. They then become twisted and distorted by surface motions storing up vast amounts of magnetic energy.

Eventually, the magnetic energy becomes unstable and collapses, resulting in the explosive heating of vast amounts of gas. This is when solar flares are produced.

The most intense solar flares are called "white light" flares and it is this type of event that sunspot group Noaa 9393 is expected to produce.

"We saw two small flares yesterday, and they may be the precursors to the big one," Joe Elrod said.

Scientists say that the Sun is currently going through a particularly active phase with many groups of sunspots on its surface.

-- Tidbit (of@the.day), March 30, 2001

Answers

Uh-oh, time to don our tinfoil hats.

-- (putting@on.now), March 30, 2001.

Maybe this is the Kill Shot that Ed Dames used to talk about on Art Bell's show.

-- Are We Ready (here@it.comes), March 30, 2001.

Wait a minute. Wasn't solar max in 2000? Didn't the doomers publish all those scientific articles about solar activity happening in 2000? I never believed what the doomers said and always questioned these articles.

Where's my glasses? I need some popcorn and a chair.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), March 30, 2001.

Actually, it's true that the most active months of cycle 23 were in the spring of 2000, Maria. But that doesn't rule out the possibility of individual days in 2001 having more activity than any particular day in 2000.

-- Cycle 23 (has@already.peaked), March 30, 2001.

Do we have time for one more roll in the hay?

-- (let's go@hurry.quick), March 30, 2001.

Ashes, ashes, we ALL FALL DOWN.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), March 30, 2001.

Oh no, there is no way we can prep for this one. I gave all my food away. Sheesh and to think I could have had it all bbq'd. And wouldnt even needed lighter fluid.

Damn!

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), March 30, 2001.

LINK

03/30 16:28

Solar Flares Could Hit Earth's Cell Phones, Pagers This Weekend

By Bill Murray

Washington, March 30 (Bloomberg) -- The biggest sunspot in 10 years is triggering solar flares that are hurling clouds of electrified gas toward Earth, creating vivid aurora displays and possible disruptions to satellite and radio communications this weekend, according to NASA.

The ionized electrons and protons can interrupt satellite- operated global positioning systems, cell phone communications and pager services if the solar energy collides with Earth's magnetic field with little warning. The latest events, however, were tracked early on U.S. government satellites, giving technicians at satellite companies time to prepare.

``The most common thing is that they can shut off some of their transponders and star trackers and just be ready to recover if they get funny commands that start to have a negative impact on the satellite,'' said Gary Heckman, a space weather forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado.

The most recent solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection, yesterday fired out high-speed electrified gas expected to impact the Earth's magnetic field tomorrow. Such ejections travel as fast as 1,250 miles per second. Its impact on satellite technology is expected to be light, Heckman said.

Force of Flares

Solar flares are capable of releasing as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT, according to NASA. A megaton is equal to a million metric tons of TNT. By contrast, the energy unleashed by the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II was equivalent to about 15,000 tons of TNT.

Observers are continuing to watch the sun for more activity because of the presence of a sunspot more than 13 times as large as the Earth's surface and growing, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement. Sunspots, which appear as darker areas on the surface of the sun, are indicators of distorted magnetic activity that scientists think are precursors to huge solar flares.

The number of sunspots and solar activity increase and decrease as the sun's 11-year cycles of stormy activity rise and fall. The current high season will continue for a couple more years, Heckman said.

Two operating NASA research satellites, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and the Advanced Composition Explorer have bolstered NOAA's ability to anticipate solar weather, Heckman said.

-- (vivid@aurora.displays), March 31, 2001.

Link to view sunspots

-- Peg (pegmcleod@mediaone.net), March 31, 2001.