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-Countries should use regular detection procedure and temporarily shut off the grid in the event of a predicted solar flare of detrimental magnitude. |
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-Shutting down the grid is already possible and detection can occur 20 hours before an impact |
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-Lovett 12—quoting Tom Bogdan, Ph.D. in Physics from UChicago, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Environment Center – AND – Rodney Viereck, Leader of the Data and Instrumentation Group Research Division NOAA Space Environment Center, March 8 (Richard, National Geographic News, March 8, 2012, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120308-solar-flare-storm-sun-space-weather-science-aurora/, ZBurdette) |
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-Even now, the center's Bogdan said, the most damaging emissions from big storms travel slowly enough to be detected by sun-watching satellites well before the particles strike Earth. "That gives us about 20 hours to determine what actions we need to take," Viereck said. (Related pictures: "Multicolored Auroras Sparked by Double Sun Blast" August 2011.) In a pinch, power companies could protect valuable transformers by taking them offline before the storm strikes. That would produce local blackouts, but they wouldn't last for long. "The good news is that these storms tend to pass after a couple of hours," Bogdan added. Meanwhile, scientists are scrambling to learn everything they can about the sun in an effort to produce even longer-range forecasts. |