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The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared in 1999 [barely reported]

science.nasa.gov — For two days in May, 1999, the solar wind that blows constantly from the Sun virtually disappeared -- the most drastic and longest-lasting decrease ever observed.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jan 23, 2008

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  • LongShlong, on 01/23/2008, -7/+175The reason it wasn't reported was because solar winds don't have chiseled cheek bones or double-D breasts going wild in Cancun.
  • inactive, on 01/23/2008, -22/+151
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  • polarpaw, on 01/23/2008, -5/+82Don't you know?
    Anything before the year 2000 doesn't matter.
  • 93TILL503, on 01/23/2008, -6/+69Lord Xenu... unavailable for comment.
  • DiggasWAttitude, on 01/23/2008, -1/+46I remember that night in 1999 - it was the first and only time I saw the northern lights from Seattle. A huge blue/green curtain to the north and a crazy warp tunnel effect overhead. One of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.
  • yeti22, on 01/23/2008, -11/+53What does this have to do with climate modeling? It sounds like this was an interesting event in the study of the sun. The reason (I would guess) that this was "barely reported" is that it is not particularly interesting if you're not actively involved in studying the sun.

    Ugh. The conspiratorial sound of "barely reported" makes this sound like some sort of scandal, and will only invite more comments like caponumen's. Let me make it clear to those too lazy to RTFA: Nowhere does the author even say the word climate. Save the climate flamewar for an article that's actually related to it.
  • BigManOnCampus, on 01/23/2008, -2/+35Very interesting... Now, does anyone have any cloud cover measurements from that same period of time?
  • toxictonic, on 01/23/2008, -9/+42[This comment has been removed due to a copyright violation request from the Church of Scientology]
  • cococooky, on 01/23/2008, -1/+33More than Britney or Paris receives. (If you think I mean it should get 5 minutes of news coverage a day, I don't)
  • TheCheeks, on 01/23/2008, -5/+36WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!
  • arunforce, on 01/23/2008, -1/+30Comment space whore.
  • milkmage, on 01/23/2008, -0/+26great. what the ***** else did I miss 9 years ago?
  • KloroFormd, on 01/23/2008, -1/+26Yes, that's how life works. What's your point?
  • insomniac8400, on 01/23/2008, -9/+33The early signs of solar warming?
  • FadieZ, on 01/23/2008, -4/+24Can someone tell me what that's supposed to mean? (yes, I did RTFA.)
  • inactive, on 01/23/2008, -1/+19Ya, rly. The solar wind sure didn't stop the owls.
  • t3soro, on 01/23/2008, -0/+17holy ***** 1999 was 9 years ago what am I doing with my life
  • ronaldmonster, on 01/23/2008, -2/+18,___,
    [=.=]
    /)__)
    "--"- YA RLY!
  • rainierbeer, on 01/23/2008, -3/+18May 1999 huh? Well clearly, the solar wind was just busy waiting in line for Star Wars Episode 1 to come out! Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure he was like 4 or 5 spots back in line from me.
  • madball, on 01/23/2008, -1/+16Practice runs for Y2K.
  • Dibou, on 01/23/2008, -6/+19I blame global warming.
  • sdellboy, on 01/23/2008, -1/+14The Greys parked their spaceship in the way until it towed away for having stayed 48 hours in a 24 hour stay orbit....
  • NCWdigital, on 01/23/2008, -0/+13I bet the shortwave reception was excellent that day.
  • Baltoche, on 01/23/2008, -2/+14You mean like a screensaver in the sky ?
  • carpespasm, on 01/23/2008, -1/+12if it simply ceased to be then we'd wind up with no northern or souther lights, shortwave radio would be easier to transmit over long distances, and we wouldn't have to worry about solar storms kicking up enough EMI to mess up satellites. It would also mean that a planetary polarity switch (north pole to south, south to north) wouldn't make for massive die-offs too, though I could be wrong.
    Also, we'd have to scrap the idea of using solar sails to get up decent speeds when trying to book it to alpha Centauri once we get around to doing that.
  • ryan83189, on 01/23/2008, -0/+11.........................................__,,,,,,,---,,,,,,_..................................................................
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    Just kidding!
  • crodragn, on 01/23/2008, -0/+10Rather disappointed that the article doesn't provide any speculation as to what caused the drop in solar winds. Still, a very interesting read.
  • inactive, on 01/23/2008, -5/+15barely reported because it meant nothing to everyday life.
  • Archer007, on 01/23/2008, -0/+9The orly owl never left. He was always there, waiting for you to come to a conclusion. Then, no matter how much proof you had, he would question you. Such is the Internet.
  • LeeSoong, on 01/23/2008, -5/+14Well, after blowing all the time, the Sun stopped to inhale and catch his breath...
  • HesNikke, on 01/23/2008, -0/+8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Wind says that solar wind is a more or less constant stream of particles emitted from the sun in all directions. on May 11, 1999, the solar wind slowed to 2% of normal, and this article is talking about the effect it had on the earths magnetic field. the end result for you and me was a massive polar light show.
  • adidax, on 01/23/2008, -0/+7More than you.
  • BigManOnCampus, on 01/23/2008, -7/+14It has a lot to do with climate modeling. There are papers (theoretical and experimental with data) that indicate that cosmic rays are responsible for creating general cloud cover on Earth. Our sun's solar wind is powerful enough where we are to deflect a lot of incoming cosmic rays that we might otherwise receive. If the sun's solar wind is variable, then in-effect, our earth's cloud cover could be inversely tied to the solar-wind output of our sun. As you know, cloud cover is a huge huge huge variable when it comes to climate modeling, and some models just don't even address it and instead throw in a fudge-factor. So yes, solar wind could potentially be huge when it comes to climate modeling.
  • iLEZ, on 01/23/2008, -1/+8Close, but it's September 11, 2001.
  • Euler2718, on 01/23/2008, -1/+8Wow, this is worse than the day the music died!
  • Hobbes24, on 01/23/2008, -2/+9it sounded like the begining of a disaster, or alien movie.
  • kevinmotel, on 01/23/2008, -2/+9this moonlanding has been brought to you by exxonmobile

    ::shudders::
  • Kurono, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5[This reply is clearly like the rest because it is bracketed]
  • protogenxl, on 01/23/2008, -1/+6Which means some time in the future a space shuttle will get whacked by a solar tsunami that mutates the crew.
  • Ne007, on 01/23/2008, -2/+7YES! EVERYBODY ON EARTH MUST NOW BE TAXED!
  • billbillbilly, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5I'm a lumberjack!
  • briguymaine, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5dugg for "book it to alpha Centauri"
  • FadieZ, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5Thanks.
  • MyBrandNewEyes, on 01/23/2008, -0/+5http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/nasalife_featu ...
  • inactive, on 01/23/2008, -6/+11Bush did it
  • 15thPD, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4Fail.
  • TheCasablancan, on 01/23/2008, -1/+5I'm way too linear to not want to die eventually. What the point of continuous leveling if I can't actually beat the game and see the end cutscene?
  • orangefly, on 01/23/2008, -5/+9did this effect the silver surfer....???....
  • moskaudancer, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4The point is, why hasn't science solved death yet?!
    http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39236
  • warlokaz2004, on 01/23/2008, -0/+4can any Physics/astronomy types enlighten me here... what would happen if the Solar Wind stopped PERMENENTLY? Just curious.
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