yesteday- unusually bright spot on the sun

A solar flare created a spectacular eruption on June 7 (pictured).

Image courtesy SDO/NASA

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.


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."


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.


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.
For more on solar flares, sunspots, and solar wind, read "The Sun—Living With a Stormy Star," from National Geographic magazine >>

Make Our Blue Planet Green: World Environment Day 2011

The Star : Sunday June 17, 2007
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/6/17/sundaymetro/17954324&sec=sundaymetro


 
segar's green mission

A freight forwarder has pledged to plant at least a million trees in doing his bit for the environment.


WHILE most of us mark special occasions in our lives by cutting a cake, Segar Krishnan plants trees. Be it weddings, birthdays or Christmas, Segar, or better known as the ‘Green Man’, finds a way to express his love for the environment.
“On my wedding day, my wife and I planted a palm tree in the church compound. The tree is now 12 years old and our church usually use the leaves on Palm Sunday.
“On Christmas day, I would go around in my green Santa outfit and start planting trees. And birthdays in my house is normally celebrated by planting a tree. My eldest son planted his first tree when he turned one,” said the father of three.
me people may think he is weird, but for 42-year-old Segar, there is nothing more satisfying than doing his bit for Mother Nature. Segar, who is a nature lover, used to read a lot about animals and plants. That was when he learnt about the dangers of pollution and effects of global warming and the importance of plants.
“I wanted to do something about it. I couldn’t just sit back and watch the earth fall into ruins. Of course, at that time, people thought I was being unrealistic. Some laughed at me while others thought I had lost it,” said Segar, who founded Future In Our Hands (FIOH) in 1987, an organisation that looks into creating awareness on environmental issues.
But the negative remarks did not hurt him as he knew that these people would thank him one day.
“Convincing people to join the organisation was quite a challenge then. It took almost a year before I managed to win them over,” added Segar.
“But it was definitely worth it as we have planted over 8,000 trees in Malaysia and all my friends and relatives are now environmentalists in their own ways,” said the managing director of a freight forwarding company in Port Klang, Selangor.
Starting them young: Segar’s children (from left) Carissha Leena, 4, Elisha Elvin, 11 and Simon Alison, 7, happily circling around the tree they planted for World Environment Day.

His achievements include launching an environmental walk from Port Klang to Klang, initiating a project of planting mangrove trees in Pantai Bagan Lalang in Sepang under the Rotary Club of Nilai, producing a documentary on mangroves and initiating numerous tree planting campaigns in Klang.
“Planting a tree has tremendous influence on the community. It enhances our health, cools the environment and prevents soil erosions. It is a practical step to reducing global warming.”
Segar’s first project was planting neem trees outside Sekolah Rendah Methodist in Port Klang.
“It was JaSegar said the seeds, bark and leaves of the tree contain compounds called limonoids with proven antiseptic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer and anti-fungal properties.
He has been giving talks and holding exhibitions on neem trees, and has even distributed 5,000 saplings to schools.
“The fact is, when you talk about planting trees, no one is interested. The normal response would be that it is not their job but the local council’s, or that it is a waste of time. But people are more receptive to neem as it benefits them in many ways,” he said.
Segar is one of the few Malaysians who segregates his household and office wastes for recycling.
“I try and recycle everything I can – from paper to electronics. As for organic waste, I have a huge pot made out of clay that I use to decompose kitchen waste. The decomposed waste would then turn into high quality soil which I use as fertiliser,” he said.
For World Environment Day recently, Segar planted three neem trees at Taman Rakyat in Andalas, Klang. He also pledged to plant at least a million trees during his lifetime.
n 1, 1992. I still remember the date clearly because it was also the day when The Star’s mast head was green as it was the day they started using recycled materials in their newsprint and ink,” said Segar, who is also known as the ‘Neem King’ because he is believed to be the first Malaysian to grow neem trees in the country.
“The reason I choose to plant neem is because of its benefits to mankind. Neem, or scientifically called Azadirachta indica, is a wonder tree. Even the United Nations has classified it as the tree of the 21st century because of its multiple uses,” he said.