I was on Yahoo Answers earlier today and I noticed some questions, one of which I reproduce here. It includes a newspaper quote (in italics):
Massive Solar Storm: Will Monday be Consider The End of the World?
Read the article ..Solar storm could knock out power grids and satellites
A huge solar storm is set to hit Earth on Monday with the potential to knock out power grids and interfere with communication satellites.
It could also upset GPS navigation systems, pose a health risk to astronauts on the International Space Station and cause widespread disruption on the planet.
But scientists say there's not too much too worry about - and point out that instead of fretting over the potential havoc we should enjoy the "beautiful" displays of the Northern and Southern Lights as they collide with the Earth's upper atmosphere.
The storms are caused by solar wind, when magnetic fields hurl billions of tonnes of storm energy from the Sun's surface into the atmosphere.
For the first time, scientists have used data analysed by the public to predict that the solar storm should hit Earth at 7.32am on Monday.
The initiative, launched by the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (ROG), makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to get involved in the latest solar research by helping to spot and track storms as they erupt from the surface of the Sun.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8197576/Solar-storm-could-knock-out-power-grids-and-satellites.html
I was puzzled that I could find no other reference to it, except on woo sites. Eventually, I came across this:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/about/press/public-spot-significant-solar-storm
which shows that the storm was predicted for Monday 13th, not 20th. If you look carefully at the Telegraph article, you'll notice that they don't actually say which Monday.
So this gives a useful opportunity for a bit of instant debunking of this sort of scaremongering article. People getting into a panic can be told that the storm was last Monday and they can be asked whether they noticed:
Widespread disruption on the planet? Nope.
Power grids knocked out? Nope.
Communication satellites interfered with? Nope.
GPS navigation systems upset? Nope.
As I said, this is all over the woo sites as happening on the 20th. I post this as a reference if anyone asks about it on these forums, but it also serves as a longer-term example of the need to take non-specialist, over-the-top journalism with a large pinch of salt.