With the Sun heading toward the Solar Maximum, the threat of a god of destruction type solar storm has increased manifold for Earth.
A solar storm that can be aptly described as a god of destruction, can spark carnage, leaving every kind of technology affected. (NASA)
With the Sun heading toward the Solar Maximum, the threat of a god of destruction type solar storm has increased manifold for Earth. Such a solar storm can destroy technologies like powergrids, GPS, satellites, affect airlines, oil pipelines, undersea cables carrying Internet, and more.
The Sun is the most powerful entity in the Solar system. Any time it throws a tantrum, the entire solar system is affected by its mood. During these moody times, the Sun is like a constantly angry parent hitting out indiscriminately at whatever is near. Unfortunately, among the closest things is the third rock from the Sun, Earth. The distance between the Sun and Earth may be just right for life to evolve on it, but when the Sun erupts and solar storms are hurled towards the planet, technological marvels that we have created are threatened.
According to NOAA, “The Sun emits bursts of radiation, high-speed electrons and protons, and other highly energetic particles into space — phenomena known as space weather.”
Notably, human health would have been totally affected negatively by these solar storms, were it not for the magnetic field and the atmosphere that blanket the planet and protect everyone from the destructive solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar wind and more. However, the same cannot be said about the technologies on Earth. All of this infrastructure is fragile and can be easily destroyed by some really powerful solar storms. The Carrington event in 1859 is a prime example. Then there was the incident in Quebec in 1989 that collapsed under attack sparked by a powerful solar storm. It caused a 9-hour outage that left millions of people in darkness.
And what exactly can be destroyed by a really powerful solar storm? From radio transmitters, satellites and GPS, electric power grids, oil pipelines, airlines, GPS to undersea cables carrying most of the world’s Internet, all can be affected.
How solar storms spark tech carnage
When these solar storms hit the Earth, they spark geomagnetic storms on Earth. NOAA says, “Extreme geomagnetic storms can damage high-voltage power transformers, causing damage that could take days, weeks, or even longer to be repaired, depending on the size of the power grid.”
The solar storm carnage can be very costly. Lloyds of London revealed in 2013 that these solar storms could affect 20-40 million people in the U.S. and cause up to $2.6 trillion in damages. And what is of even bigger concern is that the recovery may take up to two years.
Those travelling in the higher reaches of the atmosphere too are vulnerable. In fact, during strong solar storms, airlines may suspend transpolar flights and astronauts on the International Space Station have to take precaution to escape the radiation danger.
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