Posted by admin | Posted in Solar Power | Posted on 20-10-2009
Tags: astronomy, science, solar, space, sun, sunspots solar wind, weather,
Sunspots Solar Wind
 |
Handbook of climatology: part 1, general climatology List Price: $0.99  |
 |
Stellar Phenomena: Supernova, Solar Flare, Cosmic Ray, White Dwarf, Sunspot, Solar Wind, Gamma-Ray Burst, Brown Dwarf, Red Dwarf List Price: $14.14 Sale Price: $14.14 Used From: $15.25 |
|
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Supernova, Solar Flare, Cosmic Ray, White Dwarf, Sunspot, Solar Wind, Gamma-Ray Burst, Brown Dwarf, Red Dwarf, Galactic Cosmic Ray, Magnetar, Supergiant, Helioseismology, Pulsar, Solar Cycle, Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors, X-Ray Transient, Gamma-Ray Burst Emission Mechanisms, Coronal Mass Ejection, Hypergiant, Magnetic Reconnection, Stellar Black Hole, Cataclysmic Variable Star, Limb Darkening, X-Ray Burster, Intermediate Polar, Hypernova, Asteroseismology, Starspot, Blue Giant, Telescope Array Project, Luminous Red Nova, Soft X-Ray Transient, Moreton Wave, Babcock Model, Spicule, Magnetic Cloud, Superflare, Yellow Hypergiant, Wolf Number, Stellar Mass Loss, Carbon Detonation, Gravity Darkening, Plage, Red Supergiant, Facula, Solar Maximum, Flare Spray, Stellar Flare... |
Was the Maunder Minimum included in the Babcock Model?
My question is:
Babcock proposed a model to account for the solar cycle. Which of the following is NOT included in his model?
A. Field reversals every 11 years.
B. A cyclic variation in the number and distribution of sunspots.
C. Variations in the tangled and twisted form of the Sun's magnetic field.
D. The 50-year Maunder minimum when the Sun had very few spots.
E. Cyclic variations in the intensity of the solar wind.
It's either D or E but I'm not sure if the Maunder minimum was included in the Babcock model or if he proposed a cycle of solar wind intensity levels
D, because his model does also not go deep enough into the dynamics of the sun. The longer term cycles are not modeled.
The Effect Of Solar Flares On Gps
Forthcoming space weather may affect GPS devices including satellite navigation and NTP GPS time servers. Whilst many of us have had to cope with some extreme weather last winter, further storms are on their way – this time from space.
Solar flares are a regular occurrence on the surface of the sun. Whilst scientists are not completely sure what causes them we know two things about solar flares: - they are cyclical - and are related to sunspot activity.
For that last eleven years the sun’s sunspot activity – small dark depressions that appear on the surface of the sun - has been very minimal. But this eleven year cycle has come to an end and there has been a rise in sun spots at the end of last year meaning 2010 will be a bumper year for both sunspots and solar flares.
But there is no need to worry about becoming toasted by solar flares as these bursts of hot gases that flare from the sun never get far enough to reach the Earth, however, they can effect us in different ways.
Solar flares are bursts of energy and as such emit radiation and high energy particles. On earth, we are protected by these blasts of energy and radiation by the earth’s magnetic field and ionosphere, however, satellite communications are not and this can lead to trouble.
Whilst the effect of solar flare radiation is very weak, it can slow down and reflect radio waves as they travel through the ionosphere towards Earth. This interference can cause GPS satellites in particular extreme problems as they are reliant on accuracy to provide navigational information.
While the effects of solar flares are mild, it is possible GPS devices will encounter brief periods of no signal and also the problem of inaccurate signals meaning positing information may become unreliable.
This will not just affect navigation either as the GPS system is used by hundreds and thousands of computer networks as a source of reliable time.
Whilst most dedicated GPS time servers should be able to cope with periods of instability without losing precision, for worried network administrators not wanting to go into work to find their systems have crashed because of a lack of synchronisation may want to consider using a radio referenced Network time server that uses broadcast transmission such as MSF or WVBB.
Dual NTP time servers (Network Time Protocol) are also available that can receive both radio and GPS, ensuring a source of time is always constantly available.
About the Author
Richard N Williams is a technical author and specialist in atomic clocks, telecommunications, NTP and network time synchronisation helping to develop dedicated NTP clocks. Please visit us for more information about an NTP server or other NTP time server solutions.
|
Handbook of climatology: part 1, general climatology List Price: $0.99 |
|
Stellar Phenomena: Supernova, Solar Flare, Cosmic Ray, White Dwarf, Sunspot, Solar Wind, Gamma-Ray Burst, Brown Dwarf, Red Dwarf List Price: $14.14 Sale Price: $14.14 Used From: $15.25 |
|
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Supernova, Solar Flare, Cosmic Ray, White Dwarf, Sunspot, Solar Wind, Gamma-Ray Burst, Brown Dwarf, Red Dwarf, Galactic Cosmic Ray, Magnetar, Supergiant, Helioseismology, Pulsar, Solar Cycle, Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors, X-Ray Transient, Gamma-Ray Burst Emission Mechanisms, Coronal Mass Ejection, Hypergiant, Magnetic Reconnection, Stellar Black Hole, Cataclysmic Variable Star, Limb Darkening, X-Ray Burster, Intermediate Polar, Hypernova, Asteroseismology, Starspot, Blue Giant, Telescope Array Project, Luminous Red Nova, Soft X-Ray Transient, Moreton Wave, Babcock Model, Spicule, Magnetic Cloud, Superflare, Yellow Hypergiant, Wolf Number, Stellar Mass Loss, Carbon Detonation, Gravity Darkening, Plage, Red Supergiant, Facula, Solar Maximum, Flare Spray, Stellar Flare... |
Sun spot cycles - Maurice Cotterell Pt 1/12