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Sun's magnetic field "is about to flip", warns NASA

The whole of the sun's magnetic field is about to "flip", according to NASA - with warning signs being spotted by observatories around the world this year.
By Rob Waugh | Yahoo! News

solarmaximum

The whole of the sun's magnetic field is about to "flip", according to NASA - with warning signs being spotted by observatories around the world this year.

This "flip" happens every 11 years, and coincides with the greatest solar activity in the "cycles" of the sun, known as "Solar Maximum" - with sunspots and "coronal mass ejections" on the surface of the sun.

"It looks like we're no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal," says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University. "This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system."

The effects are so powerful they will be felt beyond Pluto - and may affect phenomena such as cosmic rays, which some believe can alter the climate on Earth.

Scientists have recorded these "flips" for decades, but the process is still not fully understood. This particular "flip" has already puzzled scientists - with one magnetic pole of the sun appearing to flip "too early" last year.

"Right now, there's an imbalance between the north and the south poles," Jonathan Cirtain, a space scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center said last year. "The north is already in transition, well ahead of the south pole, and we don't understand why."

The flips, though, are regular. The sun's magnetic field changes polarity roughly every 11 years - caused by the magnetic dynamo inside the sun reorganising itself.

Magnetograms at Stanford's Wilcox Solar Observatory - one of the few observatories that track the sun's magnetic fields - have been tracking the sun's polar magnetism since 1976, and they have recorded three grand reversals, with a fourth in the offing.

Solar physicist Phil Scherrer, also at Stanford, describes what happens: "The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity. This is a regular part of the solar cycle."

The sun's magnetic influence (also known as the "heliosphere") extends billions of kilometers beyond Pluto - changes to the field's polarity ripple all the way out to NASA's Voyager probes, on the doorstep of interstellar space.

When solar physicists talk about solar field reversals, their conversation often centers on the "current sheet."

The current sheet is a sprawling surface jutting outward from the sun's equator where the sun's slowly-rotating magnetic field induces an electrical current.

During field reversals, the current sheet becomes very wavy - Scherrer likens the undulations to the seams on a baseball. As Earth orbits the sun, we dip in and out of the current sheet. Transitions from one side to another can stir up stormy space weather around our planet.

Cosmic rays are also affected. These are high-energy particles accelerated to nearly light speed by supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy.

Cosmic rays are a danger to astronauts and space probes, and some researchers say they might affect the cloudiness and climate of Earth.

The current sheet acts as a barrier to cosmic rays, deflecting them as they attempt to penetrate the inner solar system. A wavy, crinkly sheet acts as a better shield against these energetic particles from deep space.

As the field reversal approaches, data from Wilcox show that the sun's two hemispheres are out of synch.

"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," says Scherrer. "Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of Solar Max will be underway."

HMRC warns of fake rebate emails
By Jessica Winch | Telegraph – Tue, Feb 19, 2013 14:02 GMT

Fraudsters are stepping up efforts to trick people into handing over their personal details by bombarding them with fake tax rebate emails.

HM Revenue and Customs has warned that almost 80,000 "phishing" emails were reported by taxpayers during 2012.

The taxman said activity tends to increase around this time of year because taxpayers have just sent in their self-assessment returns.

The emails, which often contain a link to a clone of HMRC's website, typically ask recipients to hand over their card and bank details, date of birth, national insurance number and their mother's maiden name in order to get a rebate. The details are then sold on to organised criminal gangs to commit fraud.

Gareth Lloyd, head of HMRC's digital security said: "HMRC does not email customers about tax refunds we only ever contact customers who are genuinely due tax back in writing, by post.

"If anyone receives an email offering a tax rebate and claiming to be from HMRC, please send it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk before deleting it permanently."

The revenue body said that last year it noticed a spike in the number of a phishing emails being reported after the self-assessment deadline.

HMRC took action to close down 522 illegal sites in 2012, which showed these emails originated from countries including the United States, Russia, Japan, as well as various parts of central and eastern Europe.

The emails often begin with a sentence such as: "We have reviewed your tax return. According to our calculations of your last year's accounts, a tax refund of (an amount) is due."

The self-assessment deadline day was on January 31, when a record 9.61 million people filed their tax returns on time this year.

Legitimate information about tax rebates will be sent out in the coming weeks, but this will arrive in the post and not on email. Genuine tax rebate forms, known as P800s, will never ask for credit or debit card details.

HMRC said the scam is a persistent one, with similar numbers of phishing emails having been recorded over the last couple of years, although the numbers will be the tip of the iceberg as many emails go unreported.

Anyone who receives such an email should delete it and report it, but must never try to reply, HMRC said.

The revenue body advises that anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to an email scam should tell their bank and card issuer as soon as possible.

• What's your story? Tell the author at money@telegraph.co.uk

Sir David Attenborough warns that humans are 'a plague on the Earth'

The 86-year-old broadcaster said the negative effects of climate change and population growth would cause disaster within next 50 years.

Press Association - The 86-year-old broadcaster said the negative effects of climate change and population growth would cause disaster within next 50 years.

Sir David Attenborough has warned that the human race has become a "plague on the Earth".

The 86-year-old broadcaster said the negative effects of climate change and population growth would cause disaster within next 50 years.

He told the Radio Times: "It's coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It's not just climate change. It's sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now.

"We keep putting on programmes about famine in Ethiopia - that's what's happening. Too many people there. They can't support themselves - and it's not an inhuman thing to say. It's the case.

"Until humanity manages to sort itself out and get a co-ordinated view about the planet, it's going to get worse and worse."

Sir David is a patron of the charity Population Matters, which aims to limit population growth through programmes such as contraception drives.

Sir David, whose landmark series are being repeated on BBC2, also said that his style of presenting would soon be extinct.

He told the magazine: "I'm not sure there's any need for a new Attenborough. The more you go on, the less you need people standing between you and the animal and the camera waving their arms about.

"It's much cheaper to get someone in front of a camera describing animal behaviour than actually showing you (the behaviour). That takes a much longer time.

"But the kind of carefully tailored programmes in which you really work at the commentary, you really match pictures to words, is a bit out of fashion now... regarded as old hat."