Will the Earth blackout in 2013? Earth blackout in 2013

Will the Earth blackout in 2013? Check the Video
If you’ve had your fill of apocalyptic scenarios, earthquakes, volcanoes and global warming, here comes a new threat which may wipe out the world in 2013.



Imagine a scene from any of Hollywood’s disaster films. An eerie scene where mobile phones go on the blink, GPS is knocked out, TVs go blank and the world is plunged into chaos.

Looks like disaster flicks aren’t too removed from reality since all this could well be the potential result of a gigantic solar storm, according to a new report by NASA. The report, a warning, says Earth and space are coming together in a way that’s new to human history.

A solar storm, which is essentially violent eruptions in the sun, can eject destructive radiation and charged particles into space. These are closely connected to magnetic fields – which are hazardous for satellites and space stations.

There are reports of a geomagnetic storm sparked by a huge solar flare that swept over the Earth in 1859. Telegraph wires shorted out and set houses on fire. A brilliant aurora was seen in Hawaii—so bright that “people could read newspapers by [its] red and green glow.” Scientists predict that in May 2013, the sun’s solar cycle will peak at about the same level as in 1859. (This content courtesy a post on Gawker.com)

High-tech systems are critical for life as we know it today. Everything that we depend on and take for granted – air travel, GPS navigation, banking services (even a credit card transaction uses a satellite) and emergency radio communications – can all be knocked out by intense solar activity.

To get an idea of scale, a massive solar storm could result in 20 times more damage than the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina which hit south-eastern US in August 2005. The storm killed 1,800 people and caused damages worth $81 billion.

Some good news is that some of the damage and destruction can be avoided with warning of an impending solar storm. There is technology to put satellites in ‘safe mode’ and disconnect transformers to protect them from destructive electrical surges.

The task of accurately forecasting a solar storm lies with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US. “Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy, but we’re making rapid progress,” said Thomas Bogdan, director of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.

The key for Bogdan lies in NASA and NOAA collaborating. “NASA’s fleet of heliophysics research spacecraft provides us with up-to-the-minute information about what’s happening on the sun. They are an important complement to our own GOES and POES satellites, which focus more on the near-Earth environment.”

Says Bogdon, “I believe we’re on the threshold of a new era in which space weather can be as influential in our daily lives as ordinary terrestrial weather.”

REVIEWS:

1) Stan Dalone

They're expecting that solar storms may get active in that year, which has the potential to disrupt our satellite communications. An exceptionally bad solar storm (which happened back in the 1860s IIRC) could potentially wipe out most of our satellite communications, and could disrupt earthbound electronics. But it wouldn't have any effects on us directly. The Sun will still shine as usual, etc. You'd see some pretty amazing auroras near the poles though!

2) Guest

According to the latest theory by space scientist Dr. John C. Mather who gave the theory for the formation of the universe .

the theory in (aerospace science)astro- space:-

1)The LHD(large hadron collider )showed that if a particle is collided with the nucleus at 7TEV(terra electronvolt) the universe will be formed again.(at a small level).

2) This revealed that light falling on earth may destroy it in a year or 2 since the energy of the sun trapped by the earth is causing earthquakes and hurricanes.

3)in the mayan calender it is written"thy wold de'troyth in 13"meaning that the world to be destroyed after 13 years after the evil eclipse that took place oin 2000 (13 is a unlucky number).

ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2004) — WASHINGTON -

OLD POSTS:

On 4 November 2003, the largest solar flare ever recorded exploded from the Sun's surface, sending an intense burst of radiation streaming towards the Earth. Before the storm peaked, x-rays overloaded the detectors on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), forcing scientists to estimate the flare's size.

Taking a different route, researchers from the University of Otago used radio wave-based measurements of the x-rays' effects on the Earth's upper atmosphere to revise the flare's size from a merely huge X28 to a "whopping" X45, say researchers Neil Thomson, Craig Rodger, and Richard Dowden. X-class flares are major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere that can damage or destroy satellites. The biggest previous solar flares on record were rated X20, on 2 April 2001 and 16 August 1989.

"This makes it more than twice as large as any previously recorded flare, and if the accompanying particle and magnetic storm had been aimed at the Earth, the damage to some satellites and electrical networks could have been considerable," says Thomson. Their calculations show that the flare's x-ray radiation bombarding the atmosphere was equivalent to that of 5,000 Suns, though none of it reached the Earth's surface, the researchers say.

At the time of the flare, the researchers were probing the ionosphere with radio waves as part of a long-term research program. Their new measurement comes from observations of the indirect effects of the increased x-ray radiation on very low frequency (VLF) radio transmissions across the Pacific Ocean from Washington State, North Dakota, and Hawaii to their receivers in Dunedin, New Zealand.

"Increases in x-rays enhance the ionosphere, causing its lowest region to decrease in altitude, which in turn affects the phase of VLF transmissions. Our previous research shows that these phase shifts are proportional to the number of kilometers [miles] by which the ionosphere is lowered," they say. As the lowering is known to relate directly to the amount of x-ray radiation present, the team could make a new measurement of the flare's size, they say.

"We were at the right place, at the right time with the right knowledge--which was based on nearly 15 years of work by staff and students in the Physics Department's Space Physics Group." The research would not have been possible, they added, without data provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Environment Center, which came up with the initial X28 estimate.

"We used their solar measurements to calibrate the response of the atmosphere to x-rays, so when this event overloaded the satellite detectors, we were in a unique position to make this measurement. Given that any future flares are unlikely to be large enough to overload the ionosphere, we believe that our new method has great advantages in determining their size in the event of satellite detector overloads," they say.

source: http://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/09/will-the-earth-blackout-in-2013/

CYCLONE PHET Latest News - Cyclone Phet Updates

Updates would be added:

8,000 evacuated in western India as Cyclone Phet intensifies

More than 8,000 people have been evacuated from the coastal and low-lying areas of Gujarat as Cyclone Phet intensified to a very severe cyclonic storm causing strong winds, thunderstorm and rainfall across the western Indian state, a senior government official said Thursday.

"The people have been evacuated after Cyclone Phet is building up in the Arabian Sea and has intensified into a super cyclone. Already heavy rainfall has started in many coastal districts, including Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Surat, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Vadodara. The state has been put on high alert," the official said.

However, there's some good news as the cyclone has changed its course somewhat and instead of advancing towards the Gujarat coast, it is now heading towards the coast of Oman in the Arabian Peninsula. But it will be back towards the Karachi and Gujarat coasts over the weekend. We are not taking any chances," he said.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has said that Cyclone Phet will nonetheless bring more rain over Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Tropical cyclone Phet barreled toward the coast of the Gulf Arab state of Oman on Wednesday, strengthening quickly on its way to becoming a powerful category five storm.

Phet was not expected to make landfall in Oman, but should instead turn to skim parallel to the Sultanate's shore before roaring northeast toward Pakistan, according to tropical storm watch website www.tropicalstormrisk.com.

Phet would steer clear of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of all seaborne oil trade passes, or about 17 million barrels per day (bpd).

Phet was a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, with sustained winds of over 130 mph. It was expected to become a Category 5 storm, the most powerful with winds of over 156 mph, in the next 24 hours.

Phet would lash Oman's eastern region shores with hurricane-strength winds through Friday before moving northeast. It was expected to weaken before coming ashore just south of Karachi as a Category 3 storm on Sunday.

Oman is a small independent oil producer, pumping about 850,000 bpd. Most of its exports move from the ports of Mina al-Fahal, near the capital of Muscat. The storm was expected to turn northeast before reaching Muscat.

Operations at Oman LNG, the Sultanate's export facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG), were to date unaffected, an Oman LNG spokesperson said.

The three LNG production facilities, known as trains, are based in Sur in the eastern region, closer to the path of the storm. The region is also home to Oman's green back turtle.

"It is business as usual so far with Oman LNG but we are in touch with the authorities to see if there would be any change" Nasser al-Kindy, head of corporate communications at Oman LNG told Reuters.

Oman was battered by powerful Cyclone Gonu in 2007. The storm killed at least 54 people in Oman and Iran

Tropical storm Phet intensified over the last 24 hours and has grown into a full-blown and powerful cyclone. NASA's Terra satellite imagery of the storm from earlier today also revealed an eye in the storm, confirming the intensification. Residents of coastal Oman are bracing for strong winds, heavy rainfall and rough surf today and tomorrow.

NASA's Terra satellite flew over Tropical Cyclone Phet at 06:55 UTC (2:55 a.m. EDT or 6:55 p.m. local time/Pakistan). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument, or MODIS captured a visible image of Phet at that time, and noticed an eye in the center of the storm's circulation. Satellite imagery indicates the eye is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter.

At 0900 UTC (9 p.m. local time/Pakistan), Tropical Cyclone Phet had maximum sustained winds near 110 knots (126 mph) with gusts to 135 knots (155 mph). It is now considered a major cyclone (equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale). It is about 560 miles southwest of Karachi, Pakistan, near 17.7 North and 60.6 East. It is moving to the northwest near 5 knots (6 mph). Cyclone-force winds extend to 35 miles from the storm's center, while tropical-storm force winds extend as far as 75 miles from the center. It is creating very rough seas on the Arabian Sea with waves as high as 18 feet.

NASA's MODIS instrument captured a visible image of Phet at 06:55 UTC (2:55 a.m. EDT or 6:55 p.m. local time/Pakistan) on June 2, and indicated the eye is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) in diameter.

(Photo Credit: NASA Goddard/ MODIS Rapid Response Team)

Cyclone Phet is a threat to coastal Oman, India (Gujarat), and Pakistan (Sindh and Balochistan). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has forecast the storm to continue intensifying and to approach Oman on its way to a weekend landfall in southeastern Pakistan between Karachi and to the border with India.

RSMC New Delhi warns that gale force winds will be experienced along the Oman coast today and tomorrow as Phet continues to move through the Arabian Sea.

Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Evacuation
Oman Air, the Royal Airforce of Oman and the police aviation have begun evacuating people from Masirah Island to safer places, Al Ma'mari said.

National carrier Oman Air temporarily cancelled its flights to Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi to deploy the aircraft for the evacuation of citizens of Masirah Island, an airline spokesperson said.

The passengers stranded due to this cancellation will be accommodated on other flights, or will be provided suitable alternate arrangements, the spokesperson said. "As the safety of citizens is top priority, Oman Air pledges its support to ably assist the government towards this endeavour," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Badr bin Ali Al Rumhi, director of forecasting and observing department at the Directorate General of Meteorology and Air Aviation at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, said the tropical storm over the Arabian Sea has been categorised by the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal Storm Regional Centre as '3.5 A' degree. Though the convective clouds will intensify towards Muscat Governorate by tomorrow, the instensity of rain will be less in the capital, Al Rumhi said.

The Meteorology department will continue to keep a tab on the weather and update the public accordingly, he said.

Super storm
Tropical storm watch website www.tropicalstormrisk.com says the cyclone is not expected to make a landfall in Oman, but should instead turn to skim parallel to the Sultanate's shores before roaring towards Pakistan.

Professor Mark Saunders, lead scientist and project manager at Tropical Storm Risk, a University College of London department, said over telephone: "Phet will strike as a super cyclonic storm with speeds of 130 miles per hour, and either Category 4 or 5."

A storm that powerful would be strong enough to damage buildings, pull down trees and damage infrastructure, he said.

Meanwhile, walis have been asked to notify citizens in a number of wilayats in the Al Sharqiyah region, especially in the wilayats of Sur, Ja'lan Bani Bu Ali and Ja'lan Bani Bu Hassan, to stay away from wadis and low-lying areas during heavy rains.

Also, oil and gas firms, government departments and private establishments have been asked to take precautionary measures, Al Rumhi said. -- With inputs from agencies

CYCLONE PHET