[AusNOG] Twin solar storms head towards Earth

[Paul Brooks]

And in the its-all-in-the-timing department.....published 2 hours ago

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/twin-solar-storms-head-towards-earth-20140912-10g5z6.html

Small risk for a possibly interesting weekend if these cause EM issues with power
grids etc.
If you experience problems with radio and satellite comms, please post here and let us
know!

"Two big explosions on the surface of the sun will cause a moderate to strong
geomagnetic storm on Earth in the coming days, possibly disrupting radio and satellite
communications, scientists say.

The unusual storm is not likely to wreak havoc with personal electronics but may cause
colourful nighttime auroras, or displays of the Northern Lights, late Friday and early
Saturday.

"We don't expect any unmanageable impacts to national infrastructure from these solar
events at this time but we are watching these events closely," said Thomas Berger,
director of the Space Weather Prediction Centre at the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
....

The National Weather Service has alerted power grid operators and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, just in case.

The strength of the storm pales in comparison to major geomagnetic storms of years
past, such as the 1859 Carrington event that wiped out power across a swath of Canada.

It is also weaker than a near-miss geomagnetic storm in July 2012 that NASA scientists
said could have knocked Earth's technology back at least 150 years.

That storm didn't cause mass damage because the fast-moving energized particles were
not directed straight at Earth.

"The events that just occurred over the last 24 hours were Earth-directed, they are
just not that big," said William Murtagh, program c