Get out your tinfoil hats - CME on the way (1 Viewer)

[Linda]

The big sunspot tossed out a CME and the arrival expected late Wednesday (Sept. 6), with G-2 and G-3 storms Wednesday and Thursday.

After the CME arrives, auroras will likely appear over places such as Alaska, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Greenland, and perhaps even northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington. Glare from the full Moon will mitigate visibility to some degree. If the storms are strong enough, however, auroras could pierce the moonlight. Monitor the real time aurora gallery for sightings and stay tuned for updates.

Pucksterguy, looks like you will be our man on the street for the auroras.

http://spaceweather.com/

 

[Carl]

The big sunspot tossed out a CME and the arrival expected late Wednesday (Sept. 6), with G-2 and G-3 storms Wednesday and Thursday.

Was just reading about them! The X9.3 looks powerful. Wondering if we need to take protective measures for our electronic equipment -as my wife just reminded me a minute ago, everything has electronic nowadays and we just have the regular power surge electric strips.

 

[Linda]

Just watched Ben Davidson's daily update. The first wave will hit this evening or tonight. Although it is strong, it will be many times less than what could cause a massive grid failure.

That being said, in one of our homes lightening hit a tree in the front, traveled across the yard to the porch, hit the transformer for the landscape lights, entered the house and traveled around knocking out this and that and then on to the garage. It was one of those bizarre moments. The take-away - unplug as much as you can, especially outdoor stuff.

 

[Carl]

That being said, in one of our homes lightening hit a tree in the front, traveled across the yard to the porch, hit the transformer for the landscape lights, entered the house and traveled around knocking out this and that and then on to the garage. It was one of those bizarre moments.

They sell now whole house surge protectors. They are installed next to the house main breaker panel -you need a certified electrician to do so but it isn't too expensive, specially considering that supposedly you will not need the small power strips inside the house once you do that. We did some research with my wife though and it indicated that it is still prudent to keep the power strips since they provide not only an extra security layer, but it will protect electronics in the event of power surges.