Autumn  Equinox may put cable TV on the blink

 Between now and September 28 solar interference could affect signals received from satellites, impacting the cable television service.

It is a phenomenon that occurs twice a year, during the spring equinox in the month of Marchand the autumn equinox, starting on September 22.

The equinox means that the nights have the same duration as the day. It occurs because solar radiation, when the equinox begins, arrives perpendicular to the equator, explains says  Professor Alfonso Pino, physicist, and director of the Atmospheric Physics laboratory at the University of Panama (UP) .

t happens that the satellites that transmit cable television signals are in geostationary orbits on the

According to Pino, what is going to produce this interference is that the television signals are interrupted for “brief” periods or images look pixelated or the audio is not clear. The longest the problem lasts is  15 minutes.

The interference is calculated to occur in Panama City, on September 24, 25, and 26. ” They are very short but they can cause confusion in people thinking that it is the cable TV service when in reality it is the natural phenomenon,” said the physicist.

Solar interference would not generate a great impact. It details that it begins to occur from the end of

August, when the sun is almost at a point where the radiation reaches perpendicular to the Equator.

Another phenomenon that can happen is that the intensity of solar radiation increases and with little cloud cover there would be extreme ultraviolet B radiation. The expert argued that there should be no alarm, but that due precautions should be taken to avoid radiation particularly around noon.