Hi again Pat -

We're not talking some mild Solar Rays here - we're talking about the stuff that knocks out radio transmissions, satellites, navigation systems, causes power grids to shut down and generally causes havoc. - oh yeah - a good effect is the aurora (Northern and Southern lights).

Below is a link on a good Solar education site.

A CME is:
Coronal Mass Ejections

The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic
fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the
confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles or
tongues of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. A large
CME can contain 10.0E16 grams (a billion tons) of matter that can be
accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion.
Solar material streaks out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any
planets or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares
but usually occur independently.
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I can't find it now, but I did give the link to Dennis about research that is going on into the relationship of solar/geomagnetic activity and quakes.

Here is a USGS site on geomagnetic hazards:
http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/factsheets/html_files/geomag/geomag.html

There may not be a link between the two - but research IS being done in the area and we have some CME's headed our way - lets see what happens on the 11th and the 13th when these hit...

Keep an eye on the progress at:
http://dxlc.com/solar/index.html

• NOAA Education and rOutreach site