MATAHARI MEMASUKI FASA SEPERTI ABAD KE-17

WASHINGTON - Saintis-saintis Amerika Syarikat (AS) menyatakan kitaran biasa bintik matahari kini memasuki fasa hibernasi yang tidak pernah dilihat sejak kurun ke-17 dengan suhu global dijangka turun akibat perubahan itu.
Selama bertahun-tahun, para saintis meramalkan bahawa menjelang 2012, matahari akan mengalami fasa dikenali sebagai solar maksimum dengan aktiviti ledakan api dan bintik matahari berada pada tahap paling aktif.
Keadaan tersebut dijangka menyebabkan suhu Bumi meningkat.
Namun, permukaan matahari yang agak tenang sejak kebelakangan ini menunjukkan keadaan yang sebaliknya.
Tanda-tanda perubahan tersebut termasuk ketiadaan pancutan api, sejumlah bintik yang pudar dan kelembapan aktiviti di kedua-dua kutub matahari.
Pendedahan itu dibuat menerusi tiga hasil kajian yang dibentangkan pada pertemuan tahunan Bahagian Solar Fizik Persatuan Astronomi Amerika Syarikat di Las Cruces, negeri New Mexico kelmarin.
"Keadaan ini ganjil dan di luar jangkaan," kata seorang pengarah bersama Agensi Percerapan Solar Nasional, Frank Hill.
Aktiviti matahari cenderung meningkat dan berkurangan setiap kitaran 11 tahun.
Fasa solar maksimum dan solar minimum pula berlaku setiap 22 tahun. - AFP

LETUSAN SUAR MATAHARI TERBESAR 7 JUN 2011

Solar Flare Sparks Biggest Eruption Ever Seen on Sun
Enormous ejection of particles into space shocks scientists.
Main Content
A solar flare on June 7, 2011.
A solar flare created a spectacular eruption on June 7 (pictured).

Image courtesy SDO/NASA

Dave Mosher

for National Geographic News

Published June 8, 2011

A mushroom of cooled plasma popped like a pimple and rained onto the surface of the sun yesterday—shooting perhaps the largest amount of solar material into space ever seen, scientists say.

(Watch a video of the solar flare.)

The solar flare—an unusually bright spot on the sun—wasn't surprising as a "moderate" event. Space observatories in the past year recorded about 70 such solar flares, each roughly ten times weaker than "extreme" flares, of which only two have occurred since 2007.

(Related: "Biggest Solar Flare in Years—Auroras to Be Widespread Tonight?")

Instead, what shocked scientists was the unusual amount of material that lofted up, expanded, and fell back down over roughly half the surface area of the sun. The event's simultaneous launch of particles into space is called a coronal mass ejection (CME).

"This totally caught us by surprise. There wasn't much going on with this spot, but as it came from behind the sun, all of the sudden there was a flare and huge ejection of particles," said astrophysicist Phillip Chamberlin of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), one of several spacecraft that recorded the event.

"We've never seen a CME this enormous."

(See pictures of solar eruptions.)

Solar Flares May Threaten Power Grids

Chamberlin said it will take some time to calculate the energy and mass of electrons and protons blasted into space. But he noted the volume occupied a space hundreds of times bigger than a single Earth.

The ejection of particles burst from the right limb of the sun and sprayed into space, so the blast will miss Earth—though the explosion may brighten auroras near Earth's poles, Chamberlin said.

(See pictures of auroras generated by the Valentine's Day solar flare.)

But he warned space-weather experts are concerned about future solar events.

The sun's 11-year cycle of activity, driven by tangled surface magnetic fields, will hit its maximum in late 2013 or early 2014. Magnetic messiness will peak around that time and prompt nasty solar storms.

"We'll probably see [extreme] flares every couple of months instead of years," Chamberlin said.

If one of these powerful flares—and its coronal mass ejection—faces Earth, the particles will pound satellite components with charged particles, short some out, and potentially cripple them.

On the planet's surface, extra currents of solar particles drive extra electric current through power lines and heat them up. A solar storm in 1859, for example, caused telegraph lines to burst into flames. Power companies distribute loads to avoid such a disaster, but energetic solar storms could still blow transformers and lead to power outages, especially during heat waves like the one sweeping the eastern U.S. this week.

"Despite great countermeasures, the power grid is still vulnerable. We could be in for some serious problems," Chamberlin said.

SUMBER:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...rflareeruption

Kewujudan & Kecantikan Gua Kristal Naica

Sekumpulan ahli geologi barat telah menjumpai sebuah Gua Kristal yg terletak di bawah Pergunungan Naica. Kawasan pergunungan ini dikelilingi dgn padang pasir Chihuahua di MEXICO..




Menurut ketua Ahli Geologi tersebut, kristal di dalam gua ini mampu membesar kerana ianya mengandungi
sumber mineral yg banyak serta dibantu dgn kadar suhu yg optimum pada julat 58 darjah celcius..

TWO MOONS ON 27th AUGUST 2010

27^th Aug the Whole World is waiting for......... ....

Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will cultivate on Aug. 27 when Mars comes within 34.65M miles off earth. Be sure to watch the sky on Aug. 27 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has 2 moons.

The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287.

Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again.

Cheating In Exams – How Students Are

Cheating In Exams – How Students Are

Almost every student out there dream about getting A grade. Some students succeed because of their hard work in studies but lazy and weak students are always looking for shortcuts. They are trying to find methods of cheating in exams. Students shouldn’t use any illegal method to pass in examinations, because it can destroy your future. So pay you full attention on your studies not at cheating.

Selamat Menghadapi Peperiksaan Pertengahan Tahun 2010

Do Your Best....