Northern Lights throwing Satnavs Off?

About 6 months ago I was trying to find a local post depot to pick up a package. I had never been to this particular company depot before and it was in an unfamiliar part of town. Not a problem, I would just fire up the Satnav and be guided there by TomTom. Normally that’s all good, but this time I was listed as being in Portugal with a few thousand miles to my destination… TomTom was clearly going crazy.

I came across this news item today claiming that the Northern Lights could be sending Sat Nav devices in the wrong direction. Scientists have been performing studies and found that the aurora can change signals as they pass through the lights. Being based in the UK and fairly high up on the globe, us brits could also be effected. I am sure that my experience above was not related to the Northern Lights, although it does show that Sat Nav isn’t a system that works 100% of the time.

The GPS signals that pass through the aurora can be broken up which then causes problems for the GPS receiver. According to more research there is more increase aurora activity in recent times. If the trend continues then will GPS be an effective solution in the UK? I think GPS (or the EU version due out soon) will always be a working solution, although steps to change how the devices work may be needed. If signals are being broken up when passing through the north then it could be a matter of just ignoring the data from satellites at certain co-ordinates. Who knows? I have no doubts that a fix will be made though.

“Space weather impacts on GPS include the introduction of range errors and the loss of signal reception, both of which can have severe effects on marine and aviation navigation, surveying, and other critical real-time applications,” says the research published in the American Geophysical Union’s International Journal of Space Weather.

Although it’s not completely essential for the driver of a vehicle to always have 100% coverage (although it would be nice), people who do rely on accurate data are pilots who navigate around the globe. It will be interesting to see how accuracy is effected, especially for those in the north of the UK.

Via: NewsLite