A sun outage, or sun spots, is an interruption in satellite signals caused by interference from solar radiation. The interference is caused when the sun is in direct line with a communication satellite and the sun’s radiation overwhelms the satellite signal. Each channel may be affected for 1 to 7 minutes as the sun moves across the horizon. This is a naturally occurring phenomenon that we have no control over and it affects all satellite delivered channels to all video carriers.
When do Sun Outages Occur and how long do they last?
Sun Outages occur every Spring and Fall and typically can last for about a week. The sun spots occur during the daylight hours and are a brief disruption typically lasting less than ten minutes.
How will it impact your service?
During Sun outages, you may experience short interruptions in your service such as sparkles, pixelated or fuzzy picture, picture freezing, audio distortions, or even a total loss of the channel.
For more information regarding sun spots and the current level of solar activity, visit NASA’s website at http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml.
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