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TITLE AND SUBTITLE:
Apparent Relations Between Solar Activity and Solar Tides Caused by the Planets
AUTHOR(S):
Hung, Ching-Cheh
REPORT DATE:
2007-07-09
FUNDING NUMBERS:
WBS 698671.02.03.03
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
National Aeronautics and Space Administration John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field Cleveland, Ohio 44135-3191
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER:
E-15714-2
SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, DC 20546-0001
REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED:
Technical Memorandum
SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER:
NASA/TM-2007-214817
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES:
ABSTRACT:
A solar storm is a storm of ions and electrons from the Sun. Large solar storms are usually preceded by solar flares, phenomena that can be characterized quantitatively from Earth. Twenty-five of the thirty-eight largest known solar flares were observed to start when one or more tide-producing planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Jupiter) were either nearly above the event positions (<10° longitude) or at the opposing side of the Sun. The probability for this to happen at random is 0.039 percent. This supports the hypothesis that the force or momentum balance (between the solar atmospheric pressure, the gravity field, and magnetic field) on plasma in the looping magnetic field lines in solar corona could be disturbed by tides, resulting in magnetic field reconnection, solar flares, and solar storms. Separately, from the daily position data of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, an 11-year planet alignment cycle is observed to approximately match the sunspot cycle. This observation supports the hypothesis that the resonance and beat between the solar tide cycle and nontidal solar activity cycle influences the sunspot cycle and its varying magnitudes. The above relations between the unpredictable solar flares and the predictable solar tidal effects could be used and further developed to forecast the dangerous space weather and therefore reduce its destructive power against the humans in space and satellites controlling mobile phones and global positioning satellite (GPS) systems.
SUBJECT TERMS:
Solar activity; Solar flare; Sunspot cycle
NUMBER OF PAGES:
32
PDF AVAILABLE FROM URL:
2007/TM-2007-214817.pdf ( 1720 KB )
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