Solar fade (also known as sun interference)
is a phenomenon that occurs mostly in geostationary
satellite systems (GEO) when the downlink signal is aligned with the
sun's position and it is overcome by signal noise from the sun.
Normally, the sun does not affect the reception of microwave
signals, because microwave-receiving antennas are rarely pointed
right at the sun. But once in awhile, a signal source and the sun
line up, and then they compete.
At the equinoxes, around March 21 and September 21 of every
year, the sun is directly over the earth's equator (where GEO satellites orbit). Thus, for about a week before
and after the equinoxes, the sun lines up almost exactly
with any given GEO satellite once a day for users living at the
equator. For subscribers in the northern hemisphere, the same
thing happens for a couple of weeks before March 21 and after
September 21. In the southern hemisphere, the effect is observed
just after March 21 and before September 21.
Unless the satellite downlink signal is exceptionally strong, RF
noise from the sun overpowers it, and reception is degraded or
interrupted. After a few minutes, the sun's course across the sky
takes it past the satellite, and normal reception resumes.
Solar fade never occurs
more than once a day for any
GEO satellite,
and presents a problem for only a few days out of the year. Nevertheless,
it can be frustrating to satellite system users.
It is important to realize that solar fade is not caused by a
malfunction in system hardware or programming.
See also: rain fade for another kind of interruption.