An Extreme Solar Storm May Be Even More Devastating Than Previously Imagined
Researchers have identified that current methods for predicting solar storm intensity may be biased due to statistical errors in how satellite data is interpreted. This suggests that extreme solar events could pose a greater threat to Earth's infrastructure than previously estimated.
Why it matters
Understanding the true potential of solar storms is critical for protecting global communication, GPS, and power grid infrastructure.
Solar storms occur when the solar wind—a continuous stream of charged particles emitted by the sun—interacts with Earth's magnetosphere. During the Carrington Event, telegraph communications collapsed across half the world, and the northern lights were visible throughout North America as far south as Cuba. In today's world, strong solar storms can have wider-ranging effects and can even alter the upper atmosphere.
“Our planet’s magnetic field does a really great job of protecting us against many space weather effects and so they often just show up as glitches or beautiful aurora,” notes Maria Walach, a researcher at Lancaster University who collaborated on the study. “There are however extreme cases, where satellites unexpectedly fall back to Earth, or we lose communication and GPS signals.”
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in