Science Article #13

Sat-nav device face big errors as solar activity rises

Palmer, J. “Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises." BBC – Science and Technology. February 10, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010 From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8494225.stm

How many of you have an iPhone? How many of you use your iPhone for guidance of GPS? For the past decade or so, we have been growing more and more dependent on technology – especially when it comes to satellites. Everyday people rely on satellites for GPS (global positioning system) but more importantly, people such as airplane pilots and ship captains rely heavily on these technologies to get where they want to go. The synchronization of three satellites otherwise known as triangulation will help pinpoint where exactly the user is located –this method is used by sat-nav (satellite-navigation).

Recently, researchers say that the sun’s solar activities will increase after years of being in-activity. The activities from the Sun may expel solar flares full of high-energy particles along with electromagnetic spectrum ranging from low-radio waves to high-energy gamma rays towards the vulnerable Earth. Most of the satellites orbiting the Earth will be susceptible to these solar flares causing worldwide confusion with sat-navs. This sensitivity to solar flares will affect the maritime, aviation, as well as military critical for accurate readings of sat-navs.

The aftermath effects of these solar flares are not known because during the last solar storm, the sat-navs were barely in the market. Also, the ionosphere – Earth’s outermost atmosphere – will determine the weakness and how fast these signals will travel to the navigation systems. This unsteady flow of signals will cause errors for tens of minutes – blinding the navigator from accurate travels.