MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Martin Robinson and Rob Waugh – “There is a one in eight chance of a solar ‘megastorm’ before 2014, according to a Californian scientist – and other space weather experts agree that Earth is facing a burst of violent activity that will peak within two years.

It’s unknown what effects this could have on our planet – but scientists have analysed the worst recorded solar event in history, 1859’s Carrington Event, and worked out what effects a similar event would have now.

In our connected, satellite-reliant electronic age, the effects would be devastating, they say, as it would disrupt global communications and take out power sources, and could cause up to $2 trillion of damage.

They fear the sun could now be entering a two year ‘hurricane season’ of solar storms, and the star flared violently on Valentine’s Day this year.

‘We live in a cyber cocoon enveloping the Earth. Imagine what the consequences might be,’ Daniel Baker, of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics told National Geographic when asked about a potential ‘megastorm’.

‘Every time you purchase a gallon of gas with your credit card, that’s a satellite transaction.

‘Imagine large cities without power for a week, a month, or a year. The losses could be $1 to $2 trillion, and the effects could be felt for years.'” Read more.

Spaceweather – Strong Solar Activity – “Solar activity is now high. Big sunspot AR1429, which emerged on March 2nd, is crackling with strong flares. This morning brought the strongest so far–an X1-class eruption on March 5th at 0413 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash… The explosion also hurled a bright CME into space. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the CME will probably miss Earth, although it will hit Mercury and Venus. An animated forecast track shows the likely progression of the cloud.” Read more.

Flashback: NASA Scientists: Solar Storms Beginning 2012 Could Be Unprecedented, Create an ‘Avalanche of Blackouts Carried Across Continents’ – “NASA officials said Wednesday that Earth is likely to face a barrage of increasingly common solar storms over the course of 2012 and 2013… An avalanche of blackouts carried across continents by long-distance power lines could last for weeks to months as engineers struggle to repair damaged transformers, NASA officials say. Planes and ships could face problems with GPS, and banking and financial networks might go offline.” Read more.