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Dropped calls today? Blame the sun

Have you been frustrated by poor cell signal over the last 24 hours? Normally we’d be more than happy to point fingers at the networks for yet another day of shoddy service, but according to the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) it may not be their fault this time.

Yesterday, SANSA put out a statement that it had picked up a solar event at the start of the week which sent a “massive cloud” of high energy particles towards Earth. As a result, it expected a geomagnetic storm to hit South African skies yesterday morning. Space weather is one of the agencies particular specialities, so when it says it expects “major disturbances” to “communications systems like GPS, radio communications, internet, cell phones and DStv” it’s worth taking notice.

IT Web has a good piece which explains exactly what the solar event is (a CME) and what the implications are, which is well worth reading.Those lucky enough to live in the far north of the planet may even see the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights – as a result of this storm.

In the meantime, we’d be very curious to hear from anyone who thinks they have been affected in the comments below.

(Image – The Northern Lights, CC Wikimedia)

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