Specifically, many devices used for scientific experiments, such as measuring ozone and magnetic sensors for mapping fault lines and the ocean floor, could be impacted. What are the chances for a really big one?
Some space weather scientists argue that society and the economy need to be better equipped to predict or deal with a more severe event caused by solar activity. The most well known severe event is called the Carrington Event of , which experts now believe was two intense geomagnetic storms. The event caused disruptions in telegraph networks and green and white auroras were seen in many places around the world.
According to a paper from , telegraph operators disconnected their batteries and used the influx in current from the auroras to send messages. The economic costs today of such an event could be trillions of dollars, according to a U. House Homeland Security Committee. Last month, space weather scientist Pete Riley published a paper that used statistical methods from other fields to try to ascertain the likelihood of another Carrington-like event.
The results were not comforting: he found the chances of another extreme space weather event are 12 percent in the next decade, or one in eight. Updated on March 10 with correction. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read.
Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Solar storms: Five facts you should know Another solar storm is blasting the Earth. Martin LaMonica. March 8, a. NASA captured this image of a massive solar flare erupting Tuesday. NASA You may be having a typical Thursday, but the Earth is currently being blasted by a wave of radiation from a huge solar flare.
The magnetic field, in turn, drives the motion of the charged particles. The result is an intricate dance of energetic particles swirling throughout and above the surface of the sun. When those dancing streams of particles swirl against each other, they trigger a sudden change in the path of the sun's magnetic field.
That sudden change releases energy, resulting in a solar flare. Most of the energy directly released by a solar flare is in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Solar flares release many forms of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves, x-rays and gamma rays.
While these different forms of radiation all have unique characteristics, they share one: their speed. Since the particles all travel at the speed of light -- , kilometers per second -- the solar flare energy takes seconds to arrive at Earth -- a little more than eight minutes after it leaves the sun. The solar flare's burst of electromagnetic radiation also sends particles flying.
A coronal mass ejection, or CME, is the name given to a big surge of particles emitted from the surface of the sun, and it can sometimes accompany a solar flare.
A coronal mass ejection arrives at the Earth as a dense cloud of magnetic fields, electrons and protons one to four days after leaving the Sun. Energetic charged particles from solar explosions can seriously damage satellites. When an energetic flaring proton, above 10 MeV in energy, strikes a spacecraft, it can destroy its electronic components.
Metal shielding and radiation-hardened computer chips are used to guard against this persistent, ever-present threat to satellites, but nothing can be done to shield solar cells.
Since they use sunlight to power spacecraft, solar cells must be exposed to space. Energetic solar protons scour their surface and shorten their lives. They have destroyed the solar cells on at a least one weather satellite. Geostationary spacecraft, that stay over the same spot on Earth, orbit our planet at about 6. When the magnetosphere is compressed below their geosynchronous orbits, these satellites are exposed to the full brunt of the gusty solar wind and its charged, energized ingredients.
During an intense geomagnetic storm, associated with a colliding coronal mass ejection, strong electric currents flow in the auroral ionosphere.
They induce potential differences in the ground beneath and produce strong currents in any long conductor such as a power line Fig. Up to Amperes of Direct Current, or DC, surge through long-distance power lines designed to carry Alternating Current, or AC, blowing circuit breakers, overheating and melting the windings of transformers, and causing massive failures of electrical distribution systems. A coronal mass ejection can thereby plunge major urban centers, like New York City or Montreal, into complete darkness, causing social chaos and threatening safety.
It is capable of permanently damaging multi-million dollar equipment in power generation plants, and producing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from unserved power demand or disruption of factories. The threat is greatest in high-latitude regions where the auroral currents are strongest, such as Canada, the northern United States and Scandinavia.
In fact, one great magnetic storm in March put the entire Quebec electric power system out of operation, turning off the lights in a large part of the area for 9 hours.
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