We are approaching a solar minimum close to what we experienced in the year 2006.
Recently NASA and Obama issued a warning and Executive Order that a Carrington type event could occur that could cripple the infrastructure downing our electrical grid and possibly causing thousands or millions of deaths. This is because during a solar minimum, which we are approaching, our magnetic shield is down. With any massive earth-directed X solar flares, our electrical grid is very vulnerable. And even though we have been paying taxes to retrofit our solar grid, many politicians have been stealing those funds and then heading toward Mexico with their stolen loot. Thus, few states have retrofitted the solar grids leaving us very vulnerable.
Check out these dates and events in the year 2006, which was the beginning of the last solar minimum.
Dec. 5 -- http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
Dec. 6 -- http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
Dec. 7 -- http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
NOTE: The ongoing radiation storm has
overwhelmed solar wind sensors onboard
NASA's ACE spacecraft. Solar wind readings
reported above are temporarily unreliable.
Dec. 10 - http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006 -- video of solar tsunami
Dec. 13 - http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
Dec. 14 - http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
Dec. 17 - http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2006
GOODBYE... and thanks for the X-flares.
Sunspot 930 announced itself on Dec. 5th with one of the strongest
flares in years--an X9, followed by an X6 on Dec. 6th, an X3 on
Dec. 13th and an X1 on Dec. 14th. Not bad for solar minimum!
Notice these events from the explosive solar sunspot AR930.
Dec. 5, 2006 -- X-9 solar flare at 1035 UTC --
This solar storm (including the ones on Dec. 5 and 6) disabled one of our satellites. Thankfully, this was not a geo-centered solar flare, so no CME struck the earth and our power grid was not affected.
Dec. 6, 2006 -- X-6 solar flare at 1845 UTC - This solar flare was also not geo-centered.
Dec. 7, 2006 -- M-2 solar flare at 1910 UTC
Dec. 13, 2006 - X-3 solar flare at 0240 UTC -- This storm generated a CME
Dec. 14, 2006 - X-1 solar flare at 2215 UTC - CME from the X-3 struck the earth at 1400 UTC.