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the surprising power of a solar storm

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presented by science at nasa

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solar storms are best known for the

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effect they have on arctic skies the

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aurora borealis is a wonder to behold

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satellites however are finding more

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power up there than meets the human eye

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nasa-funded researchers say a flurry of

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solar storms from march 8th to 10th

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dumped enough energy in earth's upper

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atmosphere to power every residence in

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new york city for two years

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this was the biggest dose of heat we've

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received from a solar storm since 2005

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says martin malenchak of nasa langley

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research center

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it was a big event and shows how solar

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activity can directly affect our planet

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melinchak is the associate principal

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investigator for the sabre instrument on

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board nasa's timed satellite

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saber monitors infrared emissions from

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earth's upper atmosphere

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in particular from carbon dioxide co2

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and nitric oxide no

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two substances that play a key role in

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the energy balance of air more than a

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hundred kilometers above our planet's

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surface

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carbon dioxide and nitric oxide are

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natural thermostats explains james

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russell of hampton university sabres

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principal investigator

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when the upper atmosphere or

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thermosphere heats up

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these molecules try as hard as they can

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to shed that heat back into space

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that's what happened on march 8th when a

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coronal mass ejection or cme propelled

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in our direction by an x5 class solar

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flare hit earth's magnetic field

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energetic particles rained down on the

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upper atmosphere depositing their energy

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where they hit

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the action produced spectacular auroras

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around the poles and significant upper

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atmospheric heating all around the globe

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the thermosphere lit up like a christmas

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tree says russell it began to glow

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intensely at infrared wavelengths as the

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thermostat effect kicked in

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for the three-day period march 8th

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through 10th the thermosphere absorbed

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26 billion kilowatt hours of energy

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infrared radiation from co2 and no the

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two most efficient coolants in the

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thermosphere re-radiated 95 of that

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total back into space

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in human terms this is a lot of energy

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according to the new york city mayor's

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office an average new york household

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consumes just under 4 700 kilowatt hours

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annually

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this means the geomagnetic storm dumped

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enough energy into the atmosphere to

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power every home in the big apple for

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two years

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unfortunately there's no practical way

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to harness this kind of energy says

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melinchak it's so diffuse and out of

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reach high above the earth's surface

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plus the majority of it has been sent

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back into space by the action of co2 and

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no

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during the heating impulse the

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thermosphere puffed up like a

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marshmallow held over a campfire

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temporarily increasing the drag on low

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orbiting satellites

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this is both good and bad

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on the one hand extra drag helps clear

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space junk out of earth orbit

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on the other hand it decreases the

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lifetime of useful satellites by

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bringing them closer to the day of

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reentry

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the storm is over now but russell and

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lynchak expect more to come

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we're just emerging from a deep solar

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minimum says russell

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the solar cycle is gaining strength with

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a maximum expected in 2013.

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more sunspots flinging more cmes toward

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earth adds up to more opportunities for

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sabre to study the heating effect of

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solar storms

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this is a new frontier in the sun earth

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connection says melinchak and the data

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we're collecting are unprecedented