from http://www.afspc.af.mil
The sun’s polarity may be changing, but Air Force Space Command says it has these effects under control.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the a sun’s magnetic field is set to reverse — something that happens about once every 11 years.
Tom Roeder reports:
The change is frequently accompanied by severe solar storms, which can fry electrical circuits, overpower radio signals and turn satellites into space junk.
Brig. Gen. David Buck, operations director for Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base said the military’s satellites can weather the storm.
“It messes with the environment (in space) more than it messes with our satellites,” Buck said.
The sun is constantly showering the earth with energy. When its magnetic field changes, electrical fields coming off the sun form a wave-like pattern that lashes the earth erratically.
“We’re in the middle of it,” said Bob Rutledge, operations director of the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder. “It’s something that plays out over months or years.”
Read more about this polarity shift, and how AFSPC is dealing with the change from the Gazette here.
