{"id":1007,"date":"2022-09-19T08:35:29","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T07:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pi4zlb.vrza.nl\/wp\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2022-09-19T08:35:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-19T07:35:29","slug":"solar-flare-quiets-a-quarter-of-the-globe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pi4zlb.vrza.nl\/wp\/2022\/09\/19\/solar-flare-quiets-a-quarter-of-the-globe\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar Flare Quiets A Quarter Of The Globe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the \u201cold\u201d days, people were used to the idea that radio communication isn\u2019t always perfect. AM radio had cracks and pops and if you had to make a call with a radiophone, you expected it to be unreliable and maybe even impossible at a given time. Modern technology,\u00a0 satellites, and a host of other things have changed and now radio is usually super reliable and high-fidelity. Usually. However, a magnitude 7.9 solar flare<\/a> this week reminded radio users in Africa and the Middle East that radio isn\u2019t always going to get through. At least for about an hour.<\/p>\n

It happened at around 10 AM GMT when that part of the world was facing the sun. Apparently, a coronal mass ejection accompanied the flare, so more electromagnetic disruption may be on its way.<\/p>\n

The culprit seems to be an unusually active sunspot which is expected to die down soon. Interestingly, there is also a coronal hole in the sun where the solar wind blows at a higher than usual rate. Want to keep abreast of the solar weather? There\u2019s a website for that<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve pointed out before that we are ill-prepared for technology blackouts due to solar activity<\/a>, even on the power grid. The last time it happened, we didn\u2019t rely so much on radio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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