Meteorologist Jackie Meretsky

Space Weather…and Weathering Space!

If you think snowstorms and hurricanes are your biggest concern over the next few years, think again! We are now entering a heightened period of solar activity, which could last 11 years and cause power grids, cause disruptions to GPS signals, cell phones and ATM machines and critical airline communication systems. How do we know this? The solar cycle’s first sunspot appeared in the sun’s Northern hemisphere a few weeks ago, which is a sign of solar activity.

Because of our dependence on sophisticated space based technologies, we are now increasingly vulnerable to space weather including solar disturbances. Although this type of sunspot appears on the sun’s surface as opposed to the kind that shows up on your arm after a trip to Cancun, they actually look quite similar when viewing images of sunspots from NASA’s Solar and Atmospheric Observatory. Starspots exist as well, and not just in the pages of US Magazine and Page Six.

From a mortal earthlings perspective, the sun looks calm and bright and you can’t really see what’s going on up there. Magnetic mayhem is the best way to explain what is going on with bubbles of gas ejecting out of the solar atmosphere at times which in turn expands in to a huge cloud that can engulf any planet in it’s path. These ejections can strike the earth’s magnetosphere (the magnetic field surrounding the earth) which can disrupt satellite orbits, power and communications systems. An example of this occurred in Quebec in 1989 when the province’s power grid was knocked offline during a solar storm.

So from my own perspective, the increased solar activity certainly adds a new dimension when I look up into the sky. It is also a reminder that Mother Nature often trumps technology and ultimately runs the show – like the weather anchor at any station. Kidding, sort of!