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Solar flares closing in on EarthAuroras already arcing across sky in Scandinavia
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 WASHINGTON – The massive sunspot identified as AR1654, which is spewing solar flares, has scientists saying that a portion of a coronal mass ejection is expected to brush Earth's magnetic field, creating what observers say are bright auroras around the Arctic Circle.
Already, scientists say, the CME's arrival on the solar winds is creating auroras arcing across the skies of northern Scandinavia.
Scientists from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration say this reveals the potential for a solar storm maximum as the sun approaches the height of its latest 11-year cycle this year and next.
Flares are expected to continue into 2020.
Scientists at these space-watch agencies say that if Earth gets a direct hit from one of these solar flares – some of which can be up to four times the size of Earth – the damage could be enormous.
The United States alone would sustain damages up to $2 trillion the first year to the nation's electric grid-dependent critical infrastructures. In addition, it could leave some 160 million people – more than half the population of the United States – starving because of the collapse of food and fuel delivery systems.
In addition, it could take from four to 10 years to recover.
They say they would expect high casualties because of America's dependence on electric power, electronics and digital telecommunications and information networks.
Further, there are thousands of so-called SCADAs – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Data systems, or automated control systems – which control large sections of industry and commerce.
Read the documentation behind the worry over EMP from solar flares.
 All of these systems are vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy for which solar flares are but one source. Another source would be from a high-altitude nuclear explosion.
Other forms of electromagnetic energy include gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves and radio waves.
SCADAs are referred to as the "ubiquitous robots of the modern age" and are vital to the interdependence of the critical infrastructures that comprise modern society.
According to the congressionally mandated 2008 EMP commission, these automated control systems and their mutual interdependence are two of the most important aspects of America's modern infrastructures. They pose the greatest vulnerability in all of the country's infrastructures.
Want to know the full impact of an EMP from a bomb or solar flare?
Click here to read more about WND's newest book: "A Nation Forsaken – EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe."
The SCADA systems are especially used in such critical infrastructure applications as electrical transmission and distribution, water management, and oil and gas pipelines.
America is crisscrossed with thousands of miles of pipelines, and if a SCADA were to fail, it could cause explosions in natural gas pipelines and serious leakage.
"The magnetic canopy of sunspot AR 1654 is in a state of unrest, relentlessly shifting, reconnecting and crackling with minor flares," according to a report from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Scientists described this magnetic canopy as exhibiting eruptions that looked like "flash bulbs at a rock concert."
"The sunspot's magnetic field, illuminated by the extreme (Ultra-Violet) glow of hot plasma and flares, has a 'beta-gamma-delta' configuration," NASA said. "That means it harbors energy for power X-class eruptions."
Scientists said the "behemoth" sunspot AR 1654 stretches some 112,000 miles, the equivalent of 14 Earth diameters from end to end.
The flares could create M-class flares and a "risk" of X-class flares, the biggest there are, the scientists said.
NOAA rates the flares as A-class, followed by C, M and X, which is the most severe. A-class is the smallest and, like a Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. X-class is 10 times an M-class and 100 times a C-class.
These solar flares are giant explosions on the sun's surface that send electromagnetic energy in high-speed particles into space.
A C-class storm and smaller flares are too weak to noticeably affect Earth. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that could endanger astronauts.
But the highest risk from such solar storms will be to the national electrical grid system.
The resulting power surges from solar particles could blow out huge transformers which take a long time to replace, even under normal circumstances. In addition, such large transformers no longer are made in the United States but come from abroad. Private utilities do not keep spares of these large transformers due to their tremendous cost.
The situation would be especially precarious for the nation if hundreds would be destroyed, and need replacement, all at once.
NASA estimates that if Earth had a direct hit from a solar flare, the U.S. could lose some 350 such large transformers which would take years to replace.
Click here to read more about WND's newest book: "A Nation Forsaken – EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe."
In spite of the historical knowledge of these various storms over the years, NASA said that the nation's electric power grids remain vulnerable to disruption and damage by severe space weather and have become even more so in terms of both widespread blackouts and permanent equipment damage requiring long periods of time to restore.
The reason is that electric power and more intricate and sophisticated electronics are the cornerstone of a modern society. This technology is the basis on which all other infrastructures and services depend.
"Collateral effects of a longer-term outage would likely include, for example, disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration," according to NASA. "The resulting loss of services for a significant period of time in even one region of the country could affect the entire nation and have international impacts as well."
According to NOAA, geomagnetic storms not only affect electrical transmission equipment, damage transformers and transmission lines but can leave entire grids without power. In oil and gas pipelines, rapidly fluctuating geomagnetic fields can induce currents into the pipelines. Once that occurs, flow meters in the pipeline can transmit false flow information.
This in turn could lead to a buildup of tremendous pressure that could cause explosions in the pipeline and fires.
With new, more sophisticated technologies being used in more complicated systems, space weather will become all the more important to monitor, predict and prepare for its consequences.
Read the documentation behind the worry over EMP attacks, both natural and man-made.
More WND books that you are sure to love:
The Beatles, God and the Bible & Genius Bundle
 Not too many people know that John Lennon met Paul McCartney while at a church function, or that John was a choirboy. Nor do they know that at the height of their fame in 1965, all four Beatles professed to be atheists. Yet in 1980, John had moved from proudly stating that they were more popular than Jesus, to humbly saying: "I'm a most religious fellow . . . I was brought up a Christian, and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables." As a young man, George Harrison wrote, "I want to find God. I'm not interested in material things, this world, fame—I'm going for the real goal." Later in life, Ringo said, "For me, God is in my life. I don't hide from that." In the 1990s, Paul said, "I'm not religious, but I'm very spiritual." He prayed for his wife when she was having trouble giving birth to their daughter, and his 2001 song "Freedom" spoke of freedom as "a right given by God." He also said, "God wouldn't have given us tears if He didn't want us to cry."
Little has been said of the spiritual side of the world's most famous music group. "The Beatles, God, and the Bible" changes that with its unique and fascinating insight into the spirituality of the Fab Four.
Click here to purchase the The Beatles, God and the Bible (Autographed) (Hardcover) and Genius (DVD) Bundle.
 Dogs of War (Autographed)
"Dogs of War" is a treasure trove of marvelous anecdotes, scintillating tidbits and delightful photographs of three beloved dogs sharing the limelight with Roosevelt, Patton and Eisenhower as they battled together in their efforts to save the world from fascism. It includes such stories as Fala accompanying FDR on board the USS Augusta, where the president and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlanta Charter; Willie, who shuddered with fear at the sounds of gunfire during combat but traveled with Patton everywhere; and Telek, who garnered front page coverage in the British tabloid media when he and his mate Caacie, pregnant with puppies, were photographed at a kennel during a six-month quarantine after returning home with Ike from Algiers. "Dogs of War" celebrates the unconditional, loving bond between man and his best friend in a challenging wartime setting. Fala, Willie and Telek are three incredible dogs who captured the world's heart – and who will again, for a new generation, in "Dogs of War."
Click here to get "Dogs of War" for you or as a gift for Christmas.
 America's most decorated living veteran is presenting a radical new perspective on the Vietnam War with important lessons for American foreign policy today.
WND books is reissuing "Dead Men Flying – Victory in Viet Nam, The Legend of Dust Off: America's Battlefield Angels," by Gen. Patrick Henry Brady and his daughter, Capt. Meghan Brady Smith.
Gen. Brady, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, contends that America's greatest victory in Vietnam was humanitarianism.
As commander of the 54th Medical Detachment, Gen. Brady led his unit as it rescued over 21,000 wounded – enemy and friendly – in 10 months, while sustaining injuries that resulted in 26 Purple Hearts.
It's a story that Gen. Brady says has been all but neglected as many historians and pundits seem determined to view the Vietnam War as a terrible American crime.
 By contrast, Brady provides many examples of how American servicemen and medical personnel risked their lives to care for the Vietnamese people. They also brought new technology and technical know-how to win the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese civilians, including introducing basic dentistry and solving protein deficiencies among the children.
Brady also tells the forgotten story of America's indigenous allies in Vietnam, including the Montagnards, a fierce warrior society that lost half of its adult male population in support of the American effort in Vietnam.
Most importantly, Brady tells the story of "Dust Off," the helicopter rescue program that achieved legendary status during the Vietnam War because of the willingness of pilots to prioritize rapid reaction time even in the face of extreme danger.
Click here to read more about "Dead Men Flying."
"Dead Men Flying" is not just a revisionist look at the Vietnam War. It's a combat thriller, a testimony to the power of faith, and a powerful challenge to the political and military leadership of the United States that is repeating the mistakes of the past.
Order your copy of "Dead Men Flying" now.
30th Anniversary Edition of "Scars & Stripes"
 The word "hero" is used far too easily in today's world. So is "courage." But in the case of Navy Captain Eugene "Red" McDaniel and his astonishing experiences during the Vietnam War, neither word begins to describe the years he spent as one of America's most brutalized—and inspirational—prisoners of war.
WND Books is honored to re-release McDaniel's riveting and ultimately inspiring story of survival as POW with the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Scars & Stripes: The True Story of One Man's Courage in Facing Death as a Vietnam POW."
After his A6A Intruder was shot down in the skies over Vietnam, McDaniel would be captured and spend six agonizing years as a POW in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton." Despite the sadistic and barbaric ways his captors tortured him, McDaniel remained a source of hope and strength for his fellow POWs by clinging to his faith in God in even the darkest of hours. Classified as "missing in action" until 1970, when the Hanoi government acknowledged he was being held prisoner, he remained a POW for more than six years.
Capt. Eugene McDaniel's faith in God was an inspiration to his fellow POWs during times of intense physical and psychological suffering. No matter one's trials, readers will discover in "Scars & Stripes" that McDaniel's heroic story re-affirms the truth that reliance on God will always bring the light needed in times of darkness. Upon his release on March 4, 1973, McDaniel was awarded the Navy's highest honor for bravery, the Navy Cross. Among his other military decorations are two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V," the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars with Combat "V," and two Purple Hearts for wounds received at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors.
 After returning to active duty as Commanding Officer of the USS Niagara Falls and USS Lexington, McDaniel later served as Director of Navy/Marine Corps Liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives, working daily with Congress on national defense planning.
Today, McDaniel is president of the American Defense Institute, a non-profit headquartered in Washington, D.C., which he founded to increase public awareness of the need for a strong national defense.
Click here to read more about "Stars and Stripes."
WND has had 12 out of 101 books make the New York Times bestsellers list. The 12 WND Books are "Capitol Punishment" by Jack Abramoff, "Center of the Storm" by Rep. Katherine Harris, "The Enemy Within"by Michael Savage, "Fool Me Twice" by Aaron Klein and Brenda Elliott, "Guns, Freedom and Terrorism" by Wayne LaPierre, "The Islamic Antichrist" by Joel Richardson, "The Late Great USA" by Jerome Corsi, "Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder" by Michael Savage, "The Manchurian President" by Aaron Klein and Brenda Elliott, "The Savage Nation" by Michael Savage, "The Third Terrorist"by Jayna Davis and "Where’s the Birth Certificate?" by Jerome Corsi.
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