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Science NASA warns Sun may economically damage Earth
Science NASA warns Sun may economically damage Earth | NASA warns Sun may economically damage Earth |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Tuesday, 13 January 2009 | |
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Science DiscussionsNASA funded this space-weather study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS, Washington, D.C.). Its results provide economic data on how space weather (specifically, “magnetic activity on the sun and disturbances in the near-Earth environment”) could adversely affect the Earth. The SpaceDaily.com article “Hazards Of Severe Space Weather Revealed” stated that the “NASA-funded study describes how extreme solar eruptions could have severe consequences for communications, power grids and other technology on Earth.“ Richard Fisher, the director of NASA’s Heliophysics division, was quoted to have said, "Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood. To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity." [SpaceDaily.com] Additional information on solar storms, what is called heliophysics, is found on the NASA Heliophysics division. The National Academy of Sciences report is found on the website “Severe Space Weather Events.” The NAS report states, “The adverse effects of extreme space weather on modern technology--power grid outages, high-frequency communication blackouts, spacecraft anomalies--are well known and well documented, and the physical processes underlying space weather are also generally well understood.” “Less well documented and understood, however, are the potential economic and societal impacts of the disruption of critical technological systems by severe space weather.” Information from the NAS report continues from page two. |
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