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Strategies & Market Trends : Piffer OT - And Other Assorted Nuts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doppler who wrote (59350)	11/10/2000 12:42:14 PM
From: arno	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 63513

And if we didn't have enough to contemplate right now..... knoxstudio.com 'Severe' solar storm zaps Earth By LEE BOWMAN Scripps Howard News Service November 09, 2000 - The sun has welcomed the crew of the International Space Station Alpha to the neighborhood with one of the most powerful solar radiation storms in a quarter-century, but NASA officials say the men are in no danger. The storm, rated "severe" on the government's space weather scales, produced radiation levels Wednesday and Thursday that could rise to more than the equivalent of 10 chest X-rays for passengers on jets flying nearer Earth's poles, and higher still for astronauts orbiting beyond Earth's protective atmosphere. The event, which is expected to gradually subside over the weekend, could also adversely affect some satellite operations and will likely disrupt radio communication at high latitudes. "This is a pretty dramatic event, with some very high fluxes at very high energies. It's what we'd call a 'hard' event in terms of these energy levels,'' said Joe Kunches, a senior forecaster at the Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo., part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Russian flight controllers for Alpha have asked station commander Bill Shepherd to set up a radiation-monitoring device inside Russian-built crew modules as a precaution. Rob Navias, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said similar devices are used during each space shuttle mission and will sound an audible alarm if radiation reaches a preset level. Were that to happen, the crew would move to the end of the Zvezda service module near where the Soyuz spacecraft is docked, since that part of the space station offers the most protection. "Even if it reaches levels that would trigger that alarm, the flare would have no impact to crew health or crew safety," Navias said. Kunches said only three other storms of this strength have been logged since instruments started recording space weather data in 1976. NASA records indicate that a space mission with a human crew was under way during only one of these storms, an October 1989 flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which caused no ill effects for the crew. The event, caused by a group of sunspots that are now near the sun's horizon, is expected to also increase geomagnetic activity and boost the visibility of the northern lights to high intensity, making them visible over much of the northern United States by Saturday. Scientists expect only three storms of this strength to take place during each 11-year solar cycle. Another, slightly stronger storm, already erupted in July. The current cycle of solar activity is now near its peak. On the Net: sec.noaa.gov.

To: Doppler who wrote (59350)	11/10/2000 12:57:39 PM
From: Lost1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 63513

I agree Doppler. If the Rep were under the gun we would see something similar. Also..I don't believe that Gore is making the calls at this point. His party has expended a great deal of energy, money, etc on this election and they aren't about to walk in the name of "being a good sport" at this point. This thing is beyond Al's control IMO. disclaimer--I didn't vote for Al (wouldn't have mattered here in TX) "I promise a Corvair in every garage!!!"