WARNING: This thread is more of a question than any type of fearmongering. I see no imminent threat just yet but I wanted to open this thread for
people more knowledgeable than myself to discuss what is going on.
Okay, let's get started. First, there is a very large coronal hole in the sun right now which is ejecting a strong solar wind in our direction. An
ATS thread was opened by
Violater1 titled
No Big Thing, Just a Coronal Hole in our
Sun
The solar wind should hit Earth sometime around February 2 and February 3, 2011.
Fine, this stuff happens. Then this morning I see a beautiful picture of a Aurora-Burst on
Spaceweather.com.
Cool stuff, but then I got a little concerned when I read the article (emphasis mine):
According to the official forecast, the odds of geomagnetic activity on Jan. 31st were less than 10%. That was good enough for Kjetil Skogli of
Troms, Norway. "We went out to look in spite of the low expectations--and there it was!" An aurora-burst was in progress directly overhead.
...
The unexpected display was caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth. The IMF tilted south, opening a
hole in Earth's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in and ignited the auroras.
Okay, so when a giant coronal hole opens up and the solar wind hits Earth, what happens if the IMF tilts and a hole is opened up in Earth's
magnetosphere?
To me it sounds like it could cause some problems. Anybody more versed than I am care to comment? Thanks!
edit on 1-2-2011 by nydsdan because: (no reason given)
