The Sun is the source of a great variety of phenomena. Many types of activity observed on the Sun eject large quantities of matter into interplanetary space. These Coronal Mass Ejections (or CMEs) can travel at velocities between 1 million kilometers per hour (675,000 miles per hour) to about 6.5 million km/hour (4 million miles/hour) and are thereby capable of traversing the distance between the Sun and the Earth (149,599,000 km or 93,499,000 miles) in a matter of hours (usually 1 and 4 days).

When a high velocity CME reaches the Earth, it slams into the Earth's magnetosphere and compresses it on the sunward side. If the magnetic fields imbedded within the CME are in a favorable orientation, the Earth's magnetic field can destructively couple with the magnetic field within the CME. This activity can result in large and rapid changes in the direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field. Such changes can wreak havoc on many Earth-based and space-based systems. For example, a severe geomagnetic storm accompanied the impact of a large coronal mass ejection in March 1989. The rapidly fluctuating magnetic fields associated with this magnetic storm induced strong electrical currents into the Quebec hydro power grid. These unexpected currents saturated important components of the power grid. This resulted in a loss of generated power. The loss of power, compounded by the high power drain experienced during the prime-time hours of this event, overloaded the system and resulted in a massive power outage to all of the province of Quebec and parts of the northeastern United States. Over six million people were left without electrical power for about 9 hours.

Numerous other effects accompanied this March 1989 geomagnetic storm. A few examples were increased corrosion of oil and gas pipelines, higher than expected decreases of altitude of low Earth orbiting satellites caused by increased atmospheric drag, high frequency radio communications blackouts for extended periods of time, increased episodes of satellite anomalies (charging anomalies such as single event upsets, etc.), phantom over-the-horizon radar images, increased radiation for astronauts in orbit and inaccurate navigation fixes used to pinpoint the locations of ships and aircraft on the Earth. Many other effects have been reported as well.

Since 1989, technology has advanced considerably. We now have spacecraft that can provide the people on the Earth with wide-ranging services. Pagers rely on satellite communications. Satellite navigational GPS (Global Positioning System) units are becoming more frequently relied upon by everyone from hikers to aircraft pilots. Even simply making a phone call or playing on the Internet makes extensive use of satellite communication networks. Financial institutions, weather offices, government, military, large corporations, hospitals and many other organizations are becoming increasingly reliant and dependent upon satellite technology for every day operations.

Unfortunately, the satellite technology that is employed in many of the Earth orbiting spacecraft have not been "hardened" for the impacts that can occur during abnormally intense solar disturbances. There are concerns that with so many spacecraft now in orbit, a fraction of them may become vulnerable to the effects of hazardous space weather such as occurs following the impacts of large high-velocity coronal mass ejections. It is possible that some spacecraft may become disabled or temporarily disoriented during strong disturbances, which would result in temporary or even in some cases perhaps permanent loss of services to many industries reliant upon satellites for communications and data.

The Solar Terrestrial Dispatch is actively engaged in providing computer software and services to those who may find themselves in vulnerable positions. We have developed the worlds most sophisticated and advanced space weather monitoring system that is user friendly enough for anyone to use. It can monitor (in near-real-time) solar activity, near-Earth space environment conditions, the state of the Earths magnetic field and ionosphere, and much more. It can provide up to 65 different types of alerts and warnings, all audibly or even verbally enunciated. It is ideal for anyone who feels they may be vulnerable to hazardous space weather conditions, or to those who are interested in understanding the effects of space weather on the Earth's various environments.

We are also engaged in educating the public and professional communities. Our Internet Space Weather and Radio Propagation Forecasting Course is one of the most comprehensive non-prerequisite courses in the world for teaching how to predict the impacts of solar activity on such technologies as radio communications, electrical hydro effects, and even perhaps tropospheric weather and climate. This course has been taken by everyone from high school students to educated individuals holding doctorate degrees. It is a well-rounded educational home-study program without time-completion restrictions - perfect for those who feel they are too busy to complete such a course.