s of the solar system, and smash in to the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere protects the earth by deflecting most of the solar wind around the planet. Trillions of these charged particles mange to get through and project from the North and South poles. Energy released in this fashion excites atoms of nitrogen and oxygen, which in turn emit pulses of colored light. These formations are called an aurora. The aurora borealis, which are visible in Alaska, are a result of this sort of space storm.In 1989, during our most recent solar maximum, currents induced by a geomagnetic storm brought down the power grid that supplies Canada's Quebec province. The next solar maximum expected in the year 2000 have the capacity of even greater damage. Our society has even greater dependence on electronic modes of communication as well as power sources (grids), which are enormous and interconnected, (in order to save money). This also increases the vulnerability to power outages. If, there were extended power outages in the heat of the summer, or during a cold wave, the losses would not only be financial, but would also include a large human toll.The U.S. military is very vulnerable to the potentially devastating effects of solar flares during the solar maximum cycle. The military relies on the accuracy of its electronic equipment for communications, ballistic missile early warning, navigation, weather prediction, and surveillance capabilities. All of these systems can be halted or seriously impaired as a result of this solar storm that is expected during the beginning of the new millenium.The military's communications and intelligence satellites were robust enough to withstand the interferences of the last Solar Maximum. Critical data was able to pass, but much more slowly than under normal conditions. The intelligence satellites are built to withstand very high levels of radiation so the satellites were not crippled. However, the information they relayed...
