If Your Computer Goes Wacko, Don’t Blame Obama

If your computer goes wacko, don’t blame Obama.

NASA scientists say the sun itself is getting testy these days, and the way things are turning (literally) we might be in line to get a blast of that testiness here on planet Earth.

Solar flares, which have been relatively quiescent in recent history, are revving up. Not only that, but the sun is rotating and the planets are aligning in such a way that one of these blasts might be on a trajectory to collide with us. Thanks to the ozone layer, all we’re likely to notice are Northern lights, cranky computers and other electrical glitches.

Given our computer-dependent, electronics-controlled way of life, that could make for some interesting happenings.

Here is the forecast, straight from SpaceWeather.com:

CHANCE OF FLARES: NOAA forecasters estimate a 65% chance of M-classsolar flares, and a 10% chance of X-flares today. The probable source would be big sunspot AR1654, which is squarely facing Earth. Solar flare alerts: text, voice.

ARCTIC AURORAS: A stream of solar wind is blowing around Earth and buffeting our planet’s magnetic field. Although the pressure of the wind has not been strong enough to trigger a full-fledged geomagnetic storm, auroras are nevertheless dancing around the Arctic Circle. Peter Rosén sends this picture from Kiruna in the Swedish Lapland: