TV outages? This snow
is made by the sun

The alignment of Earth,
sun and satellites causes
broadcast interruptions

By Craig Gima
Star-Bulletin

It happens twice a year -- in the fall and spring at about the time of the equinox.

The Earth, sun and communications satellites come into alignment and zap your favorite TV programs.

If you watch a lot of TV, you've probably noticed that at certain times of the day, programs turn to snow. Radio shows that come in by satellite degrade into static.

Don't blame it on the cable company, sunspots or solar flares.

Instead, these "sun outages" are a kind of satellite eclipse.

Communications satellites are in a "geostationary" orbit, which means they stay in the same place above the Earth at the equator.

At this time of year, the sun is also near the equator. When the satellites come directly between the sun and satellite receiving stations on Earth, the sun's energy overpowers the satellite, like water from a fire hose shooting from behind a squirt gun's spray.

The sun outages began about 10 days ago and will continue to affect TV satellites through Wednesday.

"It's very minor on the first day, and then it gets stronger and stronger as the satellite gets into a position closer to the sun," said Kit Beuret, director of public affairs for Oceanic Cable.

"It's not a problem. It's just geometry," said Don Mickey, a University of Hawaii astronomer, "unless, of course, you really want to know how your favorite soap comes out."

The sun outages last up to 20 minutes and generally occur in the morning. But because many programs here are tape-delayed, you may see the impact later in the day.

Most phone communication is not affected, but the outages also have an effect on other users of satellites.

The National Weather Service's GOES-10 satellite, which provides pictures of the eastern Pacific Ocean, is affected from about 9:45 p.m. Hawaii time to midnight.