Sun spectacular leaves TV and radio in the shade

IF your satellite television signal misbehaves over the next day or two don't bother complaining to the supplier, blame it on the sun.

A massive solar flare erupted on the sun's surface on Monday, spewing a burst of radiation and tonnes of charged particles in our direction. At least some of this tidal wave of energy is predicted to reach our "neck of the galaxy" over the next day or two.

This spectacular solar phenomenon carries no health warning, nor will it help or hinder efforts to get a tan in the fine weather. But it can temporarily knock out satellite systems, plays total havoc with amateur radio broadcasts and can even collapse power supplies.

"I've just been talking to chaps around the world. The situation is bad but we haven't got the bang we expected," radio amateur Mr Tom Kelly said last night. A licensed radio operator since 1960 he said the US was out of touch last night and all of the higher radio frequencies were gone.

"I have been on air all over Europe but I haven't been able to get into the States. Something is going on."

The sun provides a constant supply of light and heat but also discharges a steady stream of charged energy particles which move out in all directions, known as the solar wind. But the event last Monday was different, akin to a storm on the solar surface. "They are a kind of electromagnetic phenomenon like a discharge," explained Prof Patrick Wayman, retired director of the Dunsink Observatory.

They are thought to arise when the sun adjusts its powerful magnetic field. As parts of this field settle themselves down, massive energy is released, causing a "mass ejection" of material from the point of adjustment. Realignments are thought to occur all of the time at different points on the surface. If this happens on a side of the sun facing us and the trajectory is right then we suffer the consequences.

They are consequences to be reckoned with. The Telstar-401 telecommunications satellite was put out of action on January 6th of this year by a similar eruption. And three major power blackouts caused by flares are known to have occurred in 1965, 1977 and in 1989. The latter event put out the lights for six million Quebecois for nine hours.

"We have never suffered any power outage or disruption to our national grid as a result of a solar flare," an ESB spokesman said reassuringly yesterday. "We are absolutely confident we will suffer no effect."