Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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Solar flares cause power outages in Albany
Posted: 03.08.2012 at 6:05 PM
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Some area businesses saw power outages that they believe were due to recent solar flare eruptions

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ALBANY, GA -- Two massive solar flares erupted on the sun and caused some problems here on earth.

NASA officials rank the solar flares as "x-class" storms, which is the most powerful in space.

The solar flares erupted on Sunday and Tuesday, and they have the potential to trip electrical power grids and interfere with GPS systems and air travel. Some local businesses saw the effects of the solar flares on Thursday.

"We had two power outages I would say within an hour apart. The first one only lasted a minute or so, and the second one lasted a little bit longer than that, about, I'd say, between five and ten minutes," says Phyllis Broome, a museum guide at Thronateeska Heritage Center.

The solar storm will likely last until Friday morning. Despite the potential problems people could see, NASA scientists say there is no need to panic.

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