[Spooks] Big solar storm will hit Earth Friday

[Nod]

> From CBC News
>
> Last Updated Thu, 23 Oct 2003 13:29:47
>
> BOULDER, COLO. - A strong geomagnetic storm is expected to hit Earth
on
> Friday. Scientists say it may knock out electrical grids and satellite
> communications.
>
> A "sunspot cluster" said to be 10 times the size of Earth could damage
> satellites and power grids, as well as cable TV, pager and cellular
> telephone service.
>
> Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in
> Boulder, Colo., say it is one of the largest sunspot clusters in
years.
>
> Larry Combs, a forecaster at the federal Space Environment Center in
> Boulder, says the sunspot cluster released a chunk of the sun's outer
> atmosphere early Wednesday morning.
>
> NASA's Goddard Space Center says the sunspot clusters produce a
"coronal
> mass ejection" - an explosion of gas and charged particles from the
> outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere.
>
> In 1997, television networks in the U.S. were affected when satellites
used
> to beam programming to local stations were knocked out of service.
>
> Written by CBC News Online staff
>
> http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/10/23/sun_spots03102>