UPDATE: 10/27
Sun's gas explosions could hit Earth
JOHN INNES ( from The Scotsman web site )
http://www.news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1188612003
BILLIONS of tonnes of superhot gas could be thrown towards the Earth from the sun. On Sunday, two so-called coronal mass ejections blasted material away from large sunspots and may yet deliver a glancing blow to the Earth’s magnetic defences.
BBC Online reported that the surge of charged particles could affect orbiting satellites, as well as ground-based communication and power systems. At the very least, strong auroras may be seen at high latitudes.
What impact the explosions will have on Earth will depend on how much of their force strikes the planet head-on.
Experts say there could be blackouts in some radio frequencies. And while TV and radio stations are much less affected by such conditions, ground-to-air, ship-to-shore and amateur radio systems could be hit.
The increased solar activity is being monitored by mission controllers looking after the International Space Station. The Expedition 7 crew - a Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Malenchenko, and a NASA astronaut Ed Lu - was due to return to Earth in the early hours today, with Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque. But flight officials were confident radiation levels would not prevent the planned de-orbit.
Mike Golightly, from Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre, Houston, Texas, said: "To date, the recent eruptions have not resulted in any additional radiation exposure to the crew."