Solar Storm Alert

[mojo]

Trouble with your GPS? Your computer is mysteriously rebooting? It's probably due to the effects of a solar storm coming from the sun.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory watched this solar flare erupting from the sun on January 22, 2012. The "solar energetic particles" which erupted from the sun are traveling at a speed of 1,400 miles per second and  will hit Earth on January 24
How do solar storms affect life on Earth? NASA gives this explanation:

Strong electrical currents driven along the Earth’s surface during auroral events disrupt electric power grids and contribute to the corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. Changes in the ionosphere during geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications and Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation. During polar cap absorption events caused by solar protons, radio communications can be compromised for commercial airliners on transpolar crossing routes. Exposure of spacecraft to energetic particles during solar energetic particle events and radiation belt enhancements cause temporary operational anomalies, damage critical electronics, degrade solar arrays, and blind optical systems such as imagers and star trackers.

And don't forget the astronauts.

Tech-Info:
The event is ranked as an S3-level, or strong, solar radiation storm, which impacts high-frequency communications and can cause electronic errors in spacecraft. "Even passengers flying in high altitude aircraft are at higher than normal radiation risk," according to the Space Prediction Center. The agency said that it has received reports that at least some airline flights over the north pole have been rerouted and flights normally done at high altitudes are being done at lower altitudes.
The peak space weather is expected to hit the Earth in the morning, Eastern Time, in the U.S. and then phase out over the coming hours and days, according to NOAA and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.
Based on measurements of the high-energy protons given off by the coronal mass ejection (CME), the Space Weather Prediction Center Tuesday morning said this is the largest solar radiation storm since October 2003 (known as the Halloween Storms), not January 2005 as stated earlier.
It is forecast to be a moderate, G2-level geomagnetic storm with strong, G3 levels possible. A G2 level event will cause spacecraft to correct their orientation and affect their communications. Power grid systems at high altitude may have voltage problems.
More @ CNET

[robs456]

2012, it gets worse.