Solar storms are known causes of telecommunication disruptions and power outages. The good news is that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tests for a quicker way to predict solar storms.
There exists a present problem: destructiveness of disruptive solar geomagnetic storms could only be predicted around 30 to 60 minutes before they arrive. To solve this problem, galactic weatherman and NASA Goddard scientist Neel Savani has now started to test a new forecast model that will enable the agency to send warning signals to telecommunication companies a complete day before the solar geomagnetic storms arrive, thus helping companies to avoid unwanted power disruptions and power outages.
According to NASA, solar storms occur due to coronal mass ejections. CMEs are defined as massive bursts of gas and other materials from the sun,which are aligned in the opposite direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Unfortunately, the tools to figure out the configuration of these CMEs at a relatively close-range are non-existent yet.
When Neel Savani then figured out that those previous models perceived that CMEs only come from the most active area on the sun, he was able to solve the problem and include other spots on the sun that also release solar materials into his measurements. Now, Savani is using those measurements to forecast what a CME's configuration is with help from coronographs taken by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). According to NASA, the model can also predict "which parts of the CME will have magnetic fields pointed in which direction."
Savani will be continuing performing tests to ensure it's indeed accurate. Savani plans to create an easy-to-use application after those tests, which will make the process faster. If Savani is successful in his pursuit, aside from the fact that it will be helpful in telecommunications, it will definitely make significant contribution since the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) can use to maintain effective observation on space and solar weather.
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