Ethan Reich 10/26/14
Core Earth Quarter I: Current Event 1
Malik, Tariq. "Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years (Photos)." Space.com. N.p., 25 Oct. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.space.com/27540-huge-solar-flare-from-giant-sunspot.html>.
I chose to do my report on the article “Huge Solar Flare Erupts from Biggest Sunspot in 24 Years (Photos)” by Tariq Malik of space.com. During a partial solar eclipse that occurred the day before on October 23rd that could be seen throughout the United States, many distinguished photographers marveled at the sight of the visible, massive sunspot that is AR 12192. A day later, the sunspot produced one of the biggest solar flares of the decade. Last Friday, October 24th, a massive solar flare (a quick, powerful burst of radiation) erupted from a sunspot known as AR 12192, a previously active sunspot that has a history for producing some of the most repetitive, craziest, massive solar storms ever witnessed from Earth. In fact, quoting directly from the article, “‘This is the fourth substantial flare from this active region since Oct. 19,’ NASA spokesperson Karen Fox wrote in a status update.” Also, to put the size of AR 12192 itself in perspective, it is comparable to the volume of Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system. How ridiculous is that? Below is an actual picture of the sunspot and flare taken from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which monitors the Sun. (Picture wouldn't paste in) The flare itself was classified as an “X” category solar flare, the most severe categorization possible. “When aimed directly at Earth, X-class flares can potentially pose a danger to astronauts and spacecraft in space, and interfere with navigation, radio and communications signals.”, says Tariq Malik. Interestingly enough, even though this solar flare was gigantic, it was not the biggest one of the year. The largest solar flare happened way back in February of 2014, when a solar flare over 1.5x bigger than this one blew up.
The solar flares on the Sun themselves do not pose a threat to Earth or the species that inhabit it. However, large enough solar flares, like this one, can easily disrupt human systems and even humans themselves if they are caught beyond the safe realm that is Earth’s atmosphere. Astronauts and spacecraft somewhat close to the Sun in space can easily be affected by the radiation given off by solar flares, and flares also have a tendency to disrupt navigation, radio, and communications signals. Overall, solar flares are more of a inconvenience to modernized human life when they do happen to occur; they tend not to be a true long-term disturbance.
Personally, I enjoyed reading this article because I not only found it interesting but because it was also something I knew fairly little about. Since this article was about the Sun, I felt a little personal connection to reading it, knowing that we as a class had just finished our unit on the solar system and our planets. Hence, this current event was not a tough assignment for me; I flew through it because I was interested the whole time. I knew absolutely nothing about sunspots and solar flares before engaging in my evaluation of this article, but afterwards, I felt much more informed on the topic. Also, I felt like the format of the article itself made it very easy to read and do a report on. The beginning of the article gave good background information on the topic the article delved into, easing the reader into a specific area of earth science largely unknown by the common person. Even though the ending paragraphs of the article felt a bit dull at times, they were still relevant to explaining the topic and evaluating further impacts the solar flares could have on humans. Perhaps the article could be improved by spicing up the final paragraphs and making them more reader-friendly.
Firstly, I didn't know that scientist have named the sun spots. I also didn't know that the sun spots created these big solar flares. I thought they could happen anywhere on the sun. I find it interesting that the sun spots get grouped by certain types depending on certain variables. These facts are interesting because I thought that the sun produced solar flares anywhere. I also was surprised that the solar flares could even effect with navigation since the earth has the magnetic field around it. You did a good job using a lot of facts when talking about the sun spots and flares since you gave details to help me understand what their impacts are. I also learned more about where the sun creates it solar flares and that they have a classification for the sun spots.
ReplyDeleteMy one question is how are sun spots put into a group classification and what are the classification groups.
Ethan did a great job and i found his current event very sophisticated and interesting. I found it interesting that our sun X class flares can affect so many things in space, like astronaut or satellites. Also, I didnt know that astronomers named sunspots. I wonder if they will ever change they names to Greek or Roman god names, like constellations and planets are named after. I was impressed how Ethan used many quotes and backed his facts with credible sources. I thought Ethan really presented the importance of these flares to us was really well done. I also thought after he introduced his article that he really drew me in as a reader. One question i have is if solar flares can be controlled once they start?
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