7 Things you wanted to know about Sun Outage

1. What is Sun Outage

A sun outage is an interruption in or distortion of geostationary satellite signals caused by interference from solar radiation. The apparent path of the sun across the sky takes it directly behind the line of sight between an earth station and a satellite. As the sun radiates strongly at the microwave frequencies used to communicate with satellites (C-band and Ku-band) the sun swamps the signal from the satellite.

2. Why it happens?

The effect is due to the sun's radiation overwhelming the satellite signal.

3. When it happens?

Generally, sun outages occur in February, March, September and October, that is, around the time of the equinoxes.

4. What are the effects?
The effects of a sun outage can include partial degradation, that is, an increase in the error rate, or total destruction of the signal.

5. Why it affects the stock market?
In India, the BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange) use VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminal) for members to connect to their trading systems. VSATs depend upon satellites for connectivity between the terminals/systems. Hence these exchanges are affected due to the sun outage.
6. Can it be predicted
Yes, it can be calculated and predicted. The times at which these outages might occur can be predicted with web tools and precautions could be undertaken by the antenna owners.
7.How long the interruptions last?
Interruptions can last from just a few minutes to up to 15 minutes a day and can range from mild to severe.