Earth’s satellites, power grids, and planes may have more time to prepare for the threat of solar flares

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  • Contain solar flares solar particles, which threaten astronauts, satellites, power grids and airplanes.
  • In addition, they are very difficult to predict in advance.
  • Scientists believe they know where these particles come from, which could help astronomers better predict solar flares that threaten Earth and its technology.

Every now and then the sun spits a lot solar flare this ensures that the critical infrastructure of the earth is on edge. An example is the ‘Carrington Event’ of 1859, in which a major solar storm caused telegraphic systems in Europe and America to fail. Another is the massive power outage in Quebec in 1989.

Knowing when a solar flare will occur could help Earth better prepare for solar storms and reduce the risk to human life. In what may be a milestone in this research, a new study by astronomers from University College London (UCL) and George Mason University could at least tell others where to look.

Earth's satellites, power grids, and planes may have more time to prepare for the threat of solar flares
On July 14, 2017, a medium (M2) solar flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the same large active part of the sun. The eruption lasted almost two hours, a fairly long duration according to NASA.NASA

So what are we talking about?
Although the sun is 149.6 million kilometers away, potentially dangerous solar particles in these flares are known to disable satellites and cause city-wide blackouts. They also pose a radiation risk to astronauts and are a threat to astronauts navigation capabilities of aircraft and ships.

So far, it has proven to be an elusive undertaking to track down or predict when these solar flares will occur. According to the new study, the source is not the slow solar wind, but plasma located low in the sun’s outermost layer, the corona. However, the solar particles are closer to the middle part of the sun’s atmosphere – the chromosphere – than the outer edges of the sun.

Earth's satellites, power grids, and planes may have more time to prepare for the threat of solar flares
Layers of the sun (from the inside out from left to right)NASA

“Our evidence supports theories that these highly charged particles come from plasma held low in the sun’s atmosphere by strong magnetic fields,” said study co-author, published in Science Advances, Stephanie Yardley in a statement. “These energetic particles, once released, are accelerated by bursts that travel at a speed of a few thousand kilometers per second.”

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The threat of solar flares
A solar cycle is the amount of time it takes to reverse the sun’s magnetic poles. During the process, the star transitions from an active to a quiet phase.

Even though we know that the length of one cycle is about 11 years, it is still impossible to tell when the sun will occur until it is afterwards. The potentially dangerous solar particles in these solar flares can reach Earth within minutes. And in all likelihood, the event will last a few days.

The comparable data available to scientists is limited, as the data only goes back five cycles. An analysis led by the University of Warwick was one of the first to study the past fourteen cycles for the first time and found that ‘severe’ magnetic storms have occurred 42 times – that’s one every 25 years.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the largest solar flare ever recorded from April 2, 2001. The explosion from the sun threw a coronal mass ejection into space at a tremendous speed of about 7.2 million kilometers per hour. Fortunately, the torch was not aimed at the earth.

Earth's satellites, power grids, and planes may have more time to prepare for the threat of solar flares
On Monday, April 2, 2001, the sun unleashed the largest solar flare ever seen, as seen by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite.NASA

The new solar cycle will be their testing ground
The scientists were able to locate these energetic particles because they had the same ‘fingerprint’ as plasma deep in the sun’s corona. To determine whether their observations were correct, these astronomers used events from the last solar cycle. However, in September last year, the star at the center of our universe began a new 11-year solar cycle.

Now these scientists will use their observations to try to predict when the next solar flare may occur in the new solar cycle. “We are now embarking on a new solar cycle, and once it gets underway, we will use the same techniques to see if our results are generally true, or if these events are in some way unusual,” said lead author David Brooks in a statement.


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