Ted Thornhill: Massive Solar Storm Could Knock Out Radio Signals

Skywatchers will be hoping for clear skies from today because particles from a recent solar storm will slam into Earth and produce amazing Northern Lights, or auroras. On the downside, experts expect radio blackouts for a few days, caused by the radiation from the flare, or coronal mass ejection (CME), causing magnetic storms. The flare is part of a larger increase of activity in the Sun, which runs in 11-year cycles. It is expected to peak around 2013. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center wrote: 'Category G1 (Minor) radio blackouts are expected until 31 December.' Devices that depend on radio waves include GPS systems, radios and mobile phones. A coronal mass ejection contains billions of tons of gases bursting with X-rays and ultraviolet radiation that are flung into space at around 5 million mph. They are mind-bogglingly hot, around 100,000,000C. The Earth is occasionally hosed by these ejections, leading to amazing shimmering light shows.