Incoming Solar Storms May Cause Disruptions to Power Grids and Satellites

The sun is frequently undergoing cycles that see the number of solar storms rise and fall. An enormous solar storm erupted few days ago on the surface of the sun that blasted numerous tons of gas that were super-heated off the surface of the sun in Earth's direction.

Coronal Mass Ejection

This kind of eruption is referred to as a coronal mass ejection, and on a universal scale, this eruption wasn't specifically powerful. However, it doesn't take a solar storm that is specifically powerful to cause perceptible results on earth. When the material emitted from the surface of the sun hit the magnetic field close to the earth, it provoked the most powerful geomagnetic storm seen in years.

Since the solar storm wasn't specifically powerful, most people probably were not aware of its occurrence. However, the meaning of the storm is that it marked the fact that the sun is getting to a period it performs more activity after being essentially at rest for many years.

Geomagnetic waves from solar storms can lead to the interruption of jam radio communications, power grids, bring about harmful radiation levels for airline crews, and cause disruption to critical satellites. The sun has 11-year cycles, and its cycle of higher activity started in 2020. The cycle got to its peak in 2025 with the potentiality of powerful space weather leading to problems here on Earth.

2015 Solar Storm

Interestingly, a study was released recently that disclosed hardening the electric grid in the US could bring about $27 billion in savings to the US power industry. Here on earth, solar weather can impact life significantly. Scientists referred to 2017 when a solar storm made ham radios become static-filled just as Hurricane Irma was striking the Caribbean.

A solar storm that happened in 2015 knocked out GPS systems in the Northeastern US. The most remarkable solar storm ever happened in 1859 and is referred to as the Carrington Event and viewed telegraph lines become electrified, causing operators to get shocked and fires in offices in Europe and North America. A storm of that magnitude presently could leave millions or billions of individuals powerless.

Effects of Solar Storms

Solar storms usually the most powerful send coronal mass ejections (CMEs), that comprise charged particles, into space. If Earth ends up being in the path of a CME, the charged particles can hit into our atmosphere, lead to the disruption of satellites in orbit and even make them fail, and bathe high-flying airplanes with radiation.

They can also lead to the disruption of telecommunications and navigation systems. They have the ability to affect power grids, and have been known to cause blackout in entire cities, even entire regions.

People speaking about power failures due to solar storms always refer back to March 13, 1989, 31 years ago.

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