[HN Gopher] The Return of the X-Flares
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       The Return of the X-Flares
        
       Author : uticus
       Score  : 23 points
       Date   : 2023-02-13 20:35 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.swpc.noaa.gov)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.swpc.noaa.gov)
        
       | localplume wrote:
       | What is the best way to mitigate the effects? I guess nothing for
       | long distance since the radio waves need to bounce off the
       | atmosphere, but what about for more local/direct line of sight?
        
         | fhars wrote:
         | Fibre optics deployed under the surface. Copper cables may work
         | too for smaller flares, but they tend to burn up during larger
         | events. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
        
           | sidewndr46 wrote:
           | I don't think all Fiber optic is free from the effects of
           | geomagnetic storms like the Carrington event. Lots of "fiber"
           | also has copper along with it for critical telemetry and for
           | powering repeaters placed directly into the cable assembly.
           | If the repeaters burn up, the cable still fails.
           | 
           | That being said, if a geomagnetic storm takes out fiber laid
           | on the bottom of the ocean we're probably all going to be
           | needing new chromosomes shortly anyhow.
        
           | lxgr wrote:
           | Fiber optics still need amplifiers every couple of kilometers
           | - and to feed these, you'll need a metal-based electricity
           | supply.
        
           | dark-star wrote:
           | fiber optics might give you data, but you cannot run power
           | over them, and power lines are basically huge antennas...
           | There's not a lot you can do to mitigate that
        
       | tagami wrote:
       | Double whammy -- right over the South Atlantic Anomaly.
        
       | gnatman wrote:
       | >More flares are expected from this region as it moves across the
       | sun creating occasional degradation of high frequency (3-30 MHz)
       | communication.
       | 
       | that's short wave radio, right?
        
         | vitaflo wrote:
         | More specifically the HF band.
        
         | lxgr wrote:
         | Yes:
         | 
         | > There is no official definition of the band, but the range
         | always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which
         | extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 metres)
         | 
         | (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_radio)
        
       | ggm wrote:
       | Periodic reminders of the fragility of systems like power
       | distribution if the energy cost for arcing reduces is good (I
       | believe that's only one of the risks from a coronal mass ejection
       | on powerlines and associated equipment)
       | 
       | The problem is that coronal mass ejection is the more likely
       | event but by no means the worst: extreme gamma ray bursts[0]
       | would wipe the global EEPROM (wetware) at scale.
       | 
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst
        
         | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
         | Nope. Gammaraybust is my WiFi-ID, which is the shield I've put
         | up against that!
        
       | mzerod wrote:
       | Keeping an eye on this http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/fullday/
       | for the effects on the HF radio band, it might be quite
       | interesting.
        
       | gattr wrote:
       | Shameless plug: I make time-lapse animations of solar flares
       | (among other things) for fun, like this M-class [1] (46 min. of
       | real time, 90 mm diameter telescope with narrow band Hydrogen-
       | alpha filter).
       | 
       | [1] https://www.astrobin.com/289991/?nc=collection&nce=1468
        
       | somat wrote:
       | https://www.spaceweather.gov/
       | 
       | The Coronal Mass Ejections item shows it particularly well.
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-13 23:00 UTC)