Solar flare expert comes to Jackson

For centuries, people have been fascinated with the universe, particularly our one greatest source of natural light and heat – the sun.

But did you know that weather patterns on our closest star can actually cause GPS systems to fail and even blackout the power grid?

Those phenomena, known as solar flares, are expected to become even more frequent in 2013.

Video from NASA, captured from a satellite, shows solar flares igniting on the sun.

These gigantic bursts of radiation happen a lot.

They can’t harm you through the earth’s atmosphere, but they can produce currents strong enough to disrupt communication signals and even shut your power off.

Doug Biesecker, with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, has been fascinated by these occurences since childhood. He said NOAA is working to alert power companies as these flares happen.

“Those would go to the power grid office and they would modify their system to keep everything running. All we have to do, is go out and enjoy the show that nature gives us,” said Biesecker.

Those shows will become more frequent in the new year as the sun will reach a peak in it’s solar cycle during 2013, meaning solar flares may happen multiple times a day.

Although they can mess up radio signals for emergency responders, sun emissions aren’t all bad.

“When they slam into the earth’s magnetic field, that’s when they cause a geomagnetic storm. In a geomagnetic storm, that’s when we see the aurora,” said Biesecker.

Biesecker said it’s a common and beautiful sight in Jackson, where he lectured this week.

He said this type of solar research is increasingly important to the federal government, as it affects just about all of us.

“Society is at higher risk today, because of the technology dependence that we have,” said Biesecker.

Biesecker said if you are interested in looking more closely at solar flares, buy eclipse glasses or jump online and follow NASA satellite video.