Re: [Phys-L] satellite Sun outages

["Bob Sciamanda" <treborsci@verizon.net>]

Read this ==>
http://www.geosats.com/solaroutages.html

-----Original Message----- 
From: Anthony Lapinski 
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2014 12:59 PM 
To: Phys-L@Phys-L.org 
Subject: Re: [Phys-L] satellite Sun outages 

Still a bit puzzled.

Don't most of these satellites orbit the equator? I would think solar
radiation always hits the satellites. The satellite has to be directly
aligned with the Sun and Earth for disruption to occur? Radiation most
intense then?




Phys-L@Phys-L.org writes:
> On 02/28/2014 10:02 AM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:
> > I've heard of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) disrupting
> > satellites, but I've ever heard of this (which a friend just sent me):
> >
> > http://www.optimum.com/sun-outage.jsp
> >
> > Why does this happen only twice a year? Why not every day when the
> > satellite (geosynchronous?) is aligned with the Sun?
>
> It happens this way for the same reason that you don't
> get an eclipse every month.  The moon does cross the
> RA of the sun ("longitude") but it misses the declination
> ("latitude").
>
> ===
>
> If you lived at the equator, clumps of sun outages would occur
> twice a year, on the equinoxes.
>
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Bob Sciamanda
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (Em)
treborsci@verizon.net 
http://sciamanda.com