Magnetic Storms

(SFX: calm music under here, switching to sci-fi storms) 

FROM EARTH, OUR SUN APPEARS QUIET; CALM.  BUT IF YOU COULD LOOK
UP CLOSE YOU'D SEE THE SUN SPITTING OUT FIERY BLOBS OF
ELECTRICALLY CHARGED PARTICLES.  BLOBS THAT ZOOM TOWARDS US
AT A MILLION MILES AN HOUR.  IF THEY SLAM INTO THE EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE, THEY CAUSE GEOMAGNETIC STORMS THAT CAN DESTROY
CRITICAL SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND LEAVE US IN THE DARK,
SAYS NASA ASTROPHYSICIST DAVID HATHAWAY.

Hathaway: "The most famous one recently was back in March 89.  There were something
like 6 million people wihout power for more than a week."

NOW SCIENTISTS CAN WARN OF THESE TECHNOLOGY THREATENING
STORMS WITH INCREDIBLE--NEAR 100 PERCENT ACCURACY.  THE NEW
ADVANCE COMPOSITION EPLORER--OR ACE--GAZES OUT TO A MILLION
MILES ABOVE THE EARTH, SENDING BACK CONSTANT UPDATES ON THE
SOLAR WINDS.  ACE CAN GIVE AN UNPRECEDENTED ONE-HOUR HEADS UP
TO POWER COMPANIES--WHICH IS TIME ENOUGH FOR THEM TO TURN OFF
THEIR SATELLITES AND PREVENT DAMAGE.

Hathaway: "It's becoming more important as we depend more and more upon space
for the things we do here on earth, communication satellites, cellular phones. . ."

AND THE TIMING COULDN'T BE BETTER, SAYS NASA'S JIM SPANN. 
BECAUSE THE SUN'S GETTING READY FOR A NEW BURST OF STORMS.

Spann: "Every 11 years, it gets really active, it just spits up and its real grouchy and these
things come by earth."

THE NEXT MAJOR SOLAR STORM CYCLE IS JUST TWO YEARS AWAY IN THE
YEAR 2000.  AND WITH ALL THE NEW COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
OVER THE LAST DECADE, DAMAGES TO SATELLITES CAN CAUSE MORE
TROUBLE THAN EVER BEFORE.