Indeed Chmber, no one made any mistakes.
Solar radiation warning:mainstream
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/s...ists-warn.html
Stronger radiation from the Sun 'will cause sat-navs to fail', scientists warn
Britain’s satellite navigation networks could soon experience problems and disruptions caused by higher levels of radiation coming from the Sun, scientists warn.
By Andrew Hough
Published: 1:00PM GMT 10 Feb 2010
Experts say solar flares interfere with signals from satellites orbiting the earth, causing receivers to lose track of their position.
Scientists warn the Sun is now on its way to another "solar maximum", which will cause the stronger levels of radiation to hit the earth.
Researchers said satnav devices were facing the threat from an expected increase in solar flares from the Sun that could cause unpredictable errors in navigation.
Experts said the bursts of radiation caused by the flares interfere with signals from satellites orbiting the earth, causing receivers to fail and lose track of their position.
Now British scientists say the Sun is on its way to another “solar maximum”, which will cause the stronger levels of radiation to hit the earth.
It is feared this will cause satnav receivers to be blinded for minutes at a time and could result in drivers becoming lost or involved in accidents.
It could also cause problems to emergency services, high-precision surveying, shipping and even military operations, they added.
Prof Cathryn Mitchell, from the University of Bath, said while the sun’s affects on navigation were difficult to project, the errors could last hours or even days. “It varies quite a lot across the Earth; looking at the UK it will be about 10-metre errors in the positioning,” Prof Mitchell told the BBC.
A study in 2008 found the natural light shows of the Northern Lights – or Aurora Borealis – interfere with the signals from global positioning satellites, which are used by Sat-Navs to pinpoint the locations of vehicles, boats and aircraft.
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