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<div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/solar_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Solar Activity Can Affect Communication, Power on Earth' data-article-id='681'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='13750'>Scientists who study the sun watch for sunspots -- violent storms that can affect communications, navigation systems and even electric power stations on Earth.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='13750' data-end-time='21438'>One of those scientists is Alex Young of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. </span> <span data-start-time='21438' data-end-time='30917'>Crews at Goddard are studying the Earth and our solar system for NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. </span> <span data-start-time='30917' data-end-time='37354'>Mr. Young recently told VOA what the space agency is learning about the sun.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='37354' data-end-time='43917'>Sunspots are a product of huge electromagnetic storms on the sun. </span> <span data-start-time='43917' data-end-time='50438'>Scientists on Earth are able to observe sunspots eight minutes after they happen. </span> <span data-start-time='50438' data-end-time='54771'>That is how long it takes for the sun’s light to reach us.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='54771' data-end-time='65229'>The first electrically charged particles from a sunspot enter Earth’s atmosphere about 20 to 30 minutes after the storm happens. </span> <span data-start-time='65229' data-end-time='68792'>These particles can harm human beings. </span> <span data-start-time='68792' data-end-time='79833'>So before they arrive, astronauts on the International Space Station move into special areas designed to protect them from their effects.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='79833' data-end-time='85333'>About a day or two later, the biggest part of the storm arrives. </span> <span data-start-time='85333' data-end-time='88792'>It is called a coronal mass ejection.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='88792' data-end-time='95792'>“That is billions of tons of solar material that’s blown away from the sun. </span> <span data-start-time='95792' data-end-time='101458'>It’s traveling millions of kilometers an hour, but that is relatively slow.”</span> <span data-start-time='101458' data-end-time='104042'>That is Alex Young.</span> <span data-start-time='104042' data-end-time='110667'>He is the Associate Director for Science at NASA’s Heliophysics Science Division.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='110667' data-end-time='120354'>Several civilian government agencies and the U.S. Air Force watch weather conditions in space 24 hours a day. </span> <span data-start-time='120354' data-end-time='129104'>NASA does so because it must protect its astronauts and the electronic devices on its spacecraft.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='129104' data-end-time='141250'>Scientists are also trying to understand why the number of sunspots rises and falls at almost regular intervals every 11 years. </span> <span data-start-time='141250' data-end-time='147396'>In other words, scientists can almost predict the amount of solar activity.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='147396' data-end-time='152875'>“Also, sometimes the intensity is higher, sometimes lower. </span> <span data-start-time='152875' data-end-time='160167'>For example, the current solar cycle, as we call it, that we are in, is much lower than the previous one.”</span> <span data-start-time='160167' data-end-time='166250'>Several satellites watch the sun and the environment between the sun and the earth. </span> <span data-start-time='166250' data-end-time='174521'>Pictures and other information from the satellites tell scientists what is happening on and near the sun.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='174521' data-end-time='183292'>Alex Young says we have only been looking at the sun with powerful instruments for about 30 to 40 years. </span> <span data-start-time='183292' data-end-time='190958'>That is a very short time compared to the four billion years that the star has been shining.</span> </p><p><span data-start-time='190958' data-end-time='192667'>I’m Jim Tedder.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/solar_image.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=3581 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/what_does_navigation_mean.m4a'>What does navigation mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='the process of finding the way to get to a place when traveling'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/the_main_idea.m4a'><span>the main idea</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/the_process_of_finding_the_way_to_get_to_a_place_when_traveling.m4a'><span>the process of finding the way to get to a place when traveling</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/a_series_of_events.m4a'><span>a series of events</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/when_compared_to_others.m4a'><span>when compared to others</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=3582 data-hint-location='37354' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/what_are_sunspots.m4a'>What are sunspots?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='storms on the sun'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/sun_damage.m4a'><span>sun damage</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/storms_on_the_sun.m4a'><span>storms on the sun</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/uv_rays.m4a'><span>UV rays</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/sun_burn.m4a'><span>sun burn</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=3583 data-hint-location='120354' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/nasa_keeps_track_of_the_sunspots_to_protect_its__blank__and_the_electronic_devices.m4a'>NASA keeps track of the sunspots to protect its <span class='blank'>astronauts</span> and the electronic devices.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='astronauts'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/astronauts.m4a'><span>astronauts</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/facility.m4a'><span>facility</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/data.m4a'><span>data</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/356/journey.m4a'><span>journey</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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