Space Weather

[+Klemmer]

Walking after work yesterday (near and in Disneyland), I was having fits with my Delorme PN-20. Took way longer to lock up than usual, and EPE was poor all late afternoon / evening. Track looked like I was wandering all over the place (well, more than usual ). Checking emails this morning, found the reason:

http://spaceweather.com/

Darn sun! No harm done yestereday. Glad I wasn't trying to get accurate coords for something.

More info:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/nav/gps.html

 

Klemmer quick summary: It's not the sunspots themselves, but Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) which may occur from sunspots, that tweak the heck out of the Earth's geomagnetic field. That interferes with GPS reception in several ways, over most of the dayside of the earth. There are other effects (particle disturbances to the ionosphere, etc), but at present those are only effecting the Northern US, Canada, and Alaska. So the northern folks get it double bad.

 

Get ready for more of this, as the sun gets lots more active in the next 3 years +

Don't depend on your GPS if you are out in the boonies. Hear me Wes? Have back-ups (paper map, compass, your own situational awareness while hiking, etc).

 

Anyone else have issues yesterday?

[topflitejr1]

Walking after work yesterday (near and in Disneyland), I was having fits with my Delorme PN-20. Took way longer to lock up than usual, and EPE was poor all late afternoon / evening. Track looked like I was wandering all over the place (well, more than usual ). Checking emails this morning, found the reason:

http://spaceweather.com/

Darn sun! No harm done yestereday. Glad I wasn't trying to get accurate coords for something.

More info:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/nav/gps.html

 

Klemmer quick summary: It's not the sunspots themselves, but Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) which may occur from sunspots, that tweak the heck out of the Earth's geomagnetic field. That interferes with GPS reception in several ways, over most of the dayside of the earth. There are other effects (particle disturbances to the ionosphere, etc), but at present those are only effecting the Northern US, Canada, and Alaska. So the northern folks get it double bad.

 

Get ready for more of this, as the sun gets lots more active in the next 3 years +

Don't depend on your GPS if you are out in the boonies. Hear me Wes? Have back-ups (paper map, compass, your own situational awareness while hiking, etc).

 

Anyone else have issues yesterday?

 

 

Yup, same thing here. I haven't been able to get better than 23 feet accuracy when typical has been 7 or 10 feet. It has also taken MUCH longer for my GPSr to lock on (Magellan Explorist 210) with clear 360 view on a high hill.

[Wintertime]

Get ready for more of this, as the sun gets lots more active in the next 3 years +

Yummm, solar max, yummmmm.....

 

I'm finally going to make my long-threatened solar max aurora-viewing trip to Canada or Alaska. Last time I went to Alaska was in 1995, and hardly anything was happening, aurora-wise. Gotta hit a solar max while I can!

 

Patty

[+Klemmer]

Sounds good! 2010 or 2011! Good plan. Take a compass and map.

[Wintertime]

Sounds good! 2010 or 2011!

Or maybe 2011-2012. Somewhere around there...

 

Take a compass and map.

What, to get from my room to the hot tub at the Denali Princess?

 

Patty