Solar storms spell trouble for GPS

BTHOOM



"Andrew Gideon" wrote in message
news | On Fri, 27 Oct 2006 02:37:23 -0500, Jim Macklin wrote:
|
| Earth is hollow with a big hole at the North Pole and
| that's where flying saucers are based.
|
| Hmm. Do they permit practice approaches?
|
| - Andrew
|

How old you were?

A core sample does not come from the earth's core. It is a sample
obtained by core drilling. You can get a core sample from glaciers, or
even your own skin.

I did that with a pitot tube once; took a core sample of my forehead.

Guess what they found?

"LWG" wrote in message
news
How old you were?

22. During my second or third flying lesson.



A core sample does not come from the earth's core. It is a sample
obtained by core drilling. You can get a core sample from glaciers, or
even your own skin.

I did that with a pitot tube once; took a core sample of my forehead.

Guess what they found?

That was my answer to your question?

I did that with a pitot tube, took a core sample of my forehead. Guess what
they found?"

Answer: "How old you were?"


"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"LWG" wrote in message
news
How old you were?

22. During my second or third flying lesson.



A core sample does not come from the earth's core. It is a sample
obtained by core drilling. You can get a core sample from glaciers, or
even your own skin.

I did that with a pitot tube once; took a core sample of my forehead.

Guess what they found?

"LWG" wrote in message
...
That was my answer to your question?

I did that with a pitot tube, took a core sample of my forehead. Guess
what they found?"

Answer: "How old you were?"

Are you thinking of tree rings?

I thought you were asking how naive I was to bang my head like that. AFAIK,
you can't determine age from core samples.

As for your phrasing, I have several in-laws that are Irish and would phrase
the question just that way! (You won't be havin' a drink, will 'ya?)


"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"LWG" wrote in message
news
How old you were?

22. During my second or third flying lesson.



A core sample does not come from the earth's core. It is a sample
obtained by core drilling. You can get a core sample from glaciers, or
even your own skin.

I did that with a pitot tube once; took a core sample of my forehead.

Guess what they found?

Something like that...

Are you thinking of tree rings?

I thought you were asking how naive I was to bang my head like that.
AFAIK, you can't determine age from core samples.

As for your phrasing, I have several in-laws that are Irish and would
phrase the question just that way! (You won't be havin' a drink, will
'ya?)


"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...

"LWG" wrote in message
news How old you were?

22. During my second or third flying lesson.



A core sample does not come from the earth's core. It is a sample
obtained by core drilling. You can get a core sample from glaciers,
or
even your own skin.

I did that with a pitot tube once; took a core sample of my forehead.

Guess what they found?

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:05:05 GMT, Larry Dighera
wrote in :

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 06:44:32 -0700, Ron Wanttaja
wrote in
:

On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:12:07 GMT, Larry Dighera wrote:

How was such a clash missed? Because GPS receivers only became common
during a period of low solar activity. By 2011 solar flares will reach
the peak of their cycle and receivers will likely fail.

The sun is on an 11-year cycle. If 2011 is the date of the max (and we are
apparently in the minimum now), the LAST max was about 2000.

Of course, natural phenomena can be somewhat erratic, but your astute
analysis seems relatively consistent with International Space
Environment Service observations/projections:
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/

Unless the author believes that GPS receivers only became common after
2000, the user community has already been through one solar max period.

Apparently it was Alessandro Cerruti of Cornell University who raised
the concern, not the New Scientist author. But, you are correct about
having used GPS during the 2000 - 2003 peak period. I don't recall
any anomalous GPS behavior back then, but I do recall a solar storm
that caused my garage door opener to spontaneously open and close the
door repeatedly one day.

SPACE WEATHER THREATENS GPS

As if we didn't have enough weather to worry about here on Earth,
scientists have confirmed what has long been anecdotally acknowledged
-- that solar flares play havoc with GPS signals. And with the FAA
moving steadily toward satellite-based technologies for the future of
airspace management, the warnings from last week's Space Weather
Enterprise Forum
(http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...04559768&EDATE)
take on increasing poignancy. "Society cannot become overly reliant on
technology without an awareness and understanding of the effects of
future space weather disruptions,'' Anthea Coster, Ph.D., MIT Haystack
Observatory, told attendees at the conference, which was held in
Washington, D.C. There is some good news, however. It appears WAAS
signals, the cornerstone of most of the new navigation protocols, are
somewhat less vulnerable to disruption.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#194884