Weather Spacecraft Will Monitor Huge Solar Flares Erupting from the Sun:

The UK Space Agency is funding a weather spacecraft to monitor huge solar flares erupting from the Sun which could knock out communications on Earth. Britain is playing a major role in the European Space Agency (ESA) mission which will give an early warning, days ahead of a damaging solar storm. Storms occur when the Sun ejects super-heated radioactive material, and can disrupt modern technology by causing geomagnetic storms affecting satellite operation and navigation, communication systems and power grids. A recent ESA study estimated the potential socio-economic impact in Europe from a single, extreme space weather event could reach 15 billion Euros. However much of this disruption could be avoided through accurate forecasting. The mission called 'Lagrange' will see a spacecraft placed in a fixed point between the Sun and Earth. It is named after 'lagrange points' which are areas between two large bodies where the gravitational forces balance out, allowing an object to be 'parked' between them.

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