awwwwww sounds loverly ... but i won't be there and i am more than a little bit envious.
it's gonna have to be a loooong ride - 10pm EST is around early tomorrow morning here in gauteng ... but hey, the pretoria night skies have a lot of 'charged particles' EVERY thursday night, don't they? ENJOY! On 17 February 2011 14:59, Jacques Booysen <[email protected]> wrote: > Come to DarknDirty MTB tonight and witness the possible or should i say > impossible Southern lights. > They say charged particules hit the Earth's atmosphere, there's likely to > be an impressive display of the Northern and Southern lights which could be > visible much forther from the poles than usual. > Lets hope we see something at DnD :) > > http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/54167-massive-solar-flare-hits-earth-tonight > Jacques > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > The biggest solar flare in four years has blasted out from the sun, and is > expected to reach Earth late tonight 17Feb. > > The flare, or coronal mass ejection (CME), was emitted on Monday at 8:56pm > EST. It's been categorized as a Class X2.2 flare, the most severe type. It > follows one Class M - medium-sized - flare the day before, and several > low-grade Class C flares over the preceding week. > > The coronal mass ejection associated with the flare is currently traveling > about 900 Km/second and is expected to reach Earth’s orbit tonight at about > 10pm EST. It's the biggest flare yet in the current solar cycle. > > NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare in the extreme > ultraviolet wavelength of 193 Angstroms - although the SDO imager was for a > moment overwhelmed by the bright flash. > > It emanated from Active Region 1158, in the southern hemisphere; this has > in the past trailed behind the north in activity but now leads in big > flares. > > A flare of this size could have noticeable effects on Earth when the cloud > of charged particles reaches us. It's possible that radio transmissions and > GPS systems could be knocked out, and power grids could be affected. > > The increased radiation will represent a small health risk for astronauts > on the International Space Station and even for air passengers and crew. > > But, on the upside, as the charged particules hit the Earth's atmosphere, > there's likely to be an impressive display of the Northern and Southern > lights which could be visible much forther from the poles than usual. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "DarkAndDirty" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en. > -- http://cyclingwith.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en.
