http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/26oct_solarshield/nasa plan
A CME (coronal mass ejection) is not uncommon. But there ARE uncommon CMEs that can really ruin not only your day, but possibly your decade. No phones. No lights. No heat.
This program looks to protect our grid. It is darkly amusing that our grid was declared hard for terrorists to strike, because it is so incredibly chaotic and a wee bit backward. But the Sun is capable of harming it. And NASA thinks it can prevent that.
Speaking go NASA – want to include your name on a microchip on the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in 2011? Fill in your information at http://marsparticipate.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/
“See you there” *g*
Thank you! I’ve included my late brother’s name. It was he who introduced me to science fiction and he was a passionate follower of the space program. He would have gotten a kick out of this.
Neat!
Great idea Silverglass. I just sent my brother’s name in too. like your brother He was a great fan of the US space program. He would like going to Mars if not for a drunk driver. When we were kids I would have liked to send him there for real. Miss him now.
Apropos of nothing else, a blast from the past…I just unearthed the receipt from my donation to the Challenger Campaign, signed by CJ. Any other WWaS readers out there contribute to that effort, waaaaay back when?
Find a copy of the paperback of Angel With a Sword. It has a dedication, several double-column pages long, to all the folks that contributed. (At least, that’s the only reason I can imagine that my name should be there …)