Solar storm impact on RI unknown

Solar storm impact on RI unknown

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Experts remain uncertain about how the recent geomagnetic
particle storm will affect Indonesia, as the shockwave from the
storm is moving at a very high speed, making it hard to observe.

The charged particles from the solar storm, known as a coronal
mass ejection, is estimated to be moving at 5.2 million miles per
hour.

Mudji Raharto, a staff lecturer at the school of astronomy,
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), and former head of Bosscha
Observatory in Lembang, West Java, said the cloud of charged
particles was moving at high speeds, which was accelerated by the
Earth's magnetic field.

"Therefore, we cannot immediately calculate what the impact
might be on us," Mudji told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said he could not determine what kind of particles hit the
Earth, nor how seriously the charged particles would affect the
country's telecommunication transmissions.

"We might found out in a couple of days," he said.

He speculated that the impact would be minimal, as Indonesia
is located along the equator, and the greatest impact was in the
northern hemisphere.

However, he said the solar storm might last several days, as
observations showed the sun spot had been growing bigger without
any signs of receding.

Widya Sawitar, an ITB-based astronomer stationed at the Taman
Ismail Marzuki planetarium, said developed countries had taken
serious measures to anticipate the shockwave, as it could hamper
satellite transmissions.

"In an extreme way, the shockwave is similar to the energy
that breaks glasses when a jet flies by," he said, adding that
the shockwave would reach throughout the entire galaxy.

He said, however, Indonesia might not need to be too
concerned, because its satellite space was not as dense as those
of other countries.

"Therefore, satellites in Indonesian space might be less
affected," he said.

Officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency
(LAPAN), which controls Indonesian satellite Palapa, could not be
reached for comment.

A shockwave from the Sun hit the Earth on Wednesday, the final
burst from a solar storm that has hampered some satellite
transmissions and led electric grid operators to curb power
transmissions as a precaution.

Power plants from Sweden to New Jersey cut production to limit
the amount of electricity flowing over transmission grids,
preparing to absorb any sudden surge in energy that might result
in coming days from lingering effects of the storm. A Japanese
communications satellite, meanwhile, stopped its operations
temporarily due to the impact of strong solar flares which
occurred earlier this week.