Solar Max is upon us: the sun's magnetic field about to flip…
by CJ | Aug 5, 2013 | Journal | 6 comments
6 Comments
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That is so cool to know. We live in such an odd world/system/universe/cosmos — whatever!
Went out at 2200 and watched the space station transit. I’ve seen it before of course but it was considerably brighter this time–brightest thing in the sky save two. 😉 Must have been the orientation of the solar panels this time.
I wonder how the flip will affect communications. Not just satellite or microwave, but also those of us ham radio operators who like to play around with HF radio. As the activity on the sun increases, the solar winds excite the ions in the upper ionosphere, separating it into layers of differing density and electrical properties. The highest layer, the F layer, splits into the F1 and F2 layers during daylight hours in summer, and is responsible for refracting (bending) radio waves like a prism bends light. The amount of refraction is dependent upon the frequency of the transmitted wave, the angle at which it is radiated off its antenna, the amount of excitation, or lack thereof, in the ionosphere, how much power is being radiated (in watts of RF), and whether you are using a monodirectional or an omnidirectional antenna. There are other factors, but those are the big ones. I don’t have a large antenna array at my home, so I can’t really use much in the way of HF unless I get in my car, and then I’m limited to 100 watts, using a small omnidirectional antenna on the trunk lid. I can change frequencies on the transceiver with a couple of buttons on the microphone, so I don’t even have to look at the front dial of the radio to change frequencies. That means I can drive along the road and not worry about taking my eyes off the road for too long. Even in states where “hands free” is a requirement, amateur radio operators, like police and other emergency services, are exempt when using their radios.
I wonder if the “flip” will create a more excitable ionosphere, resulting in great effects upon HF communications, especially at the high end of the band, up into the 20MHz – 29MHz ranges.
There’s more activity at max, so the storms and sunspots might: but I think this is probably the halfway point for it, so it may start to decline from here.
About every 11 years, huh? So much for running around saying the sky is falling. Guess Chicken Little can go back to laying eggs.
Hmm, flip-flops might be good footwear for the appointed day(s).
I’d think a solar pole flip would play merry heck with communications and any interplanetary or nearby interstellar navigation. But then, they’d have to design systems to handle things like that for capable spacecraft / starships / in-system ships and boats.
So much of what the sun does doesn’t get past our magnetic field, for which we may be duly grateful.