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NOAA News || NOAA Home Page || Previous Story July 14, 2000 GEOMAGNETIC STORM REACHES EARTH, NOAA REPORTS
(Animation of the sun was
made from imges taken by the NASA/European Space Agency SOHO
satellite from July 14-15 2000.) [Click image for larger view.] Power systems: possible voltage stability problems, portions of grids collapse and protective devices trip. Spacecraft operations: experience surface charging and tracking problems, orientation problems need corrections. Other systems: induced pipeline currents affect preventive measures, HF radio propagation sporadic, satellite navigation degraded for hours, low-frequency radio navigation disrupted, and the aurora seen as low as in the tropics. A G-5 geomagnetic storm can cause the following disruptions. Power systems: grid systems can collapse and transformers experience damage. Spacecraft operations: extensive surface charging, problems with orientation, uplink/downlink, and tracking satellites. Other systems: pipeline currents reach hundreds of amps, HF (high frequency) radio propagation impossible in many areas for one to two days, satellite navigation degraded for days, low-frequency radio navigation out for hours, and the aurora seen as low as the equator. This is the largest solar radiation storm since October of 1989. Solar radiation storms can reach Earth very quickly and can cause effects such as low-level radiation for commercial jet crews flying at high latitudes and single event upsets for satellites. In addition, there is a good
chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis Saturday night through Sunday
morning in the mid-latitudes and possibly lower. Cities such
as Washington, D.C., Seattle, New York, and Denver (with the
possibility of other cities located in the southern U.S.) may
be able to observe this phenomena.
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