AT&T management
Wondering if they can pin their issues on the sun.
NASA has warned of strong solar flares that have the potential to interrupt communications in space and down here on Earth. The aerospace agency on Thursday posted news of a flare that peaked at 5:34 p.m. EST on Feb. 22, 2024 (10:34PM UTC) that it’s rated an X6.3 event. Solar flares are rated in five categories: A, B, C, M, …
I am confused. What good is a "warning"? Surely by the time solar scientists have observed the flare (let alone communicated to anyone about it) its effects have reached us?
Does it have significant duration? Does its strength increase (in which case, how do they know how strong it will be)? Is the warning about matter ejected at the same time but travelling a lot lower than the speed of light?
Solar flares have both immediate and delayed effects on the earth. X-rays travel at the speed of light and can cause radio blackouts and also affect satellites in various ways. X-rays may remain at high levels for several hours - in this case the level was above M1 for about an hour and a half. Flares are often also accompanied by "coronal mass ejections" which can cause geomagnetic storms a couple of days later. There doesn't seem to have been a significant CME associated with this flare.
I note that none of the ones in the list come close to the Carrington Event (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event)
I've still never understood aspects of that one, even after getting my copy of Plasma Physics for Astrophysicists. Mainly why it seemed to arrive so quickly. Think for a while wiki just said something like 'It jumped', which isn't a common characteristic of plasmas as I understand them. So my best guess is maybe ionisation created a charged path that enabled it to move faster. Is fascinating physics though, like plasma loops kind of cracking the whip and ended up accelerated in our general direction.