# Solar storm detection **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341 "2003-10-24T16:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/1 "2003-10-24T16:07:25Z")
So OK there is a solar storm out there somewhere. It might hit earth??? So how do I know when it gets here? Is there a home solar storm detector? Can I make one cheaply in the next couple of minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/2 "2003-10-24T16:35:18Z")
Tune an AM radio to a weak, but steady station. When it goes away suddenly, that’s a pretty good indicator. Geomagnetic storms caused by solar flares and CMEs distrupt radio communications, especially the lower bands. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/3 "2003-10-24T16:37:42Z")
[http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/dst\_index/page1.html](http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/dst_index/page1.html) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/4 "2003-10-24T17:00:34Z")
What units are nts? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/5 "2003-10-24T17:13:20Z")
> [@](#): > > What units are nts? **nT** is nano-Tesla, a measure of magnetic field strength (flux density). I think it’s just the [ACE](http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/index.html) satellite magnetometer reading. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/6 "2003-10-24T17:39:01Z")
Cool Are the times GMT? Time at ACE? Couldn’t access NASA site completely. Things are pretty slow today. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/7 "2003-10-24T19:53:26Z")
Lots of aurora info in these previous threads: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187208](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=187208) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138524](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138524) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-storm-detection/209341/8 "2003-10-24T20:05:07Z")
Looks like it’s due to hit in about 35 minutes as of the time of this post.