[guide.chat] wednesday news radiation solar storms
- From: vanessa <qwerty1234567a@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "GUIDE CHAT" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:03:15 -0000
Delta reroutes flights to avoid massive solar storm as radiation disrupts
cellphone calls and GPS units
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 10:26 AM on 25th January 2012
A rare explosion in space on Sunday that has caused a solar radiation storm has
led to Delta Air Lines Inc. rerouting some of its flights.
Delta, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, announced on Tuesday that flights
that go over the North Pole, which is the part of Earth most vulnerable to the
storm, are flying on a more southerly route.
The flights affected depart from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul and arrive at
Detroit. Cellphones can also be affected with reports of dropped calls and GPS
units not working for no apparent reason.
Taking no risks: Delta is rerouting flights that go over the North Pole to
avoid the impact of the solar storm
The airline added that the flights are going faster to keep the schedule on
track, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The rerouting is a precautionary measure because of concerns that radiation
levels are greater near the North Pole because of the thin ozone layer there.
The storm could also interrupt communications between satellites and Earth.
Fiery fury: A Nasa image from Sunday night of the explosion on the sun
A massive explosion on the sun on Sunday caused an eruption of particles that
hit the Earth early Tuesday.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center of the U.S. National Weather
Service, it's the biggest solar storm since October 2003.
The chief concern is the radiation, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.
Viewed from a different direction, Sunday's mighty solar flare
Blast of heat: Sunday night's flare caused an eruption of particles that hit
the Earth early Tuesday
Space physicist Doug Biesecker said the radiation messes with the satellites
causing communication problems for polar-travelling airplanes.
Radiation from Sunday's explosion hit Earth an hour later and looks likely
continue throughout Wednesday, he added.
On fire: A startling image of the sun taken from Nasa's Solar Dynamics
Observatory
NOAA has classified the radiation level as strong, the strongest since May
2005. There are two higher levels: severe and extreme.
Going over the North Pole is the most direct route for most U.S.-north east
Asia flights.
GPS systems could be affected because the earth's electromagnetic field gets
disturbed by radiation coming off the sun, and GPS signals have to pass through
that disturbed area.
Speaking about the affect on cellphones, Mr Biesecker said: 'It can be impacted
if it's sunrise or sunset and the cell tower is in the same direction of the
sun.
'A cellphone signal is very very weak, so anything that comes in at that
frequency could overwhelm it.
You would just drop the call, but you wouldn't realize why.'
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