{"id":61036,"date":"2024-07-03T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T08:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/49790818-9119-4567-8b36-1ca67f9ac641"},"modified":"2024-07-03T08:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T08:39:44","slug":"were-overdue-a-once-a-century-solar-storm-if-a-carrington-event-struck-today-it-would-be-catastrophic","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/were-overdue-a-once-a-century-solar-storm-if-a-carrington-event-struck-today-it-would-be-catastrophic\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re overdue a once-a-century solar storm. If a Carrington Event struck today, it would be catastrophic"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Minna Palmroth\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 03 July 2024 at 08:14 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Do you remember the Icelandic volcano eruption of 2010? Millions were forced to make alternative travel plans as air traffic restrictions came into force.<\/p>

Now just imagine if all flights around the world were cancelled at the same time.<\/p>

And, for added drama, unlike the Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kul eruption, you couldn\u2019t phone home or find information on the internet about what was going on.<\/p>

In fact, you might be sitting in darkness, because the electricity has gone down. It\u2019s not as outlandish as you may think.<\/p>

The space physics community agrees that the next once-in-100-year solar storm might be coming soon. <\/p>

The Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kul eruption of 2010 caused chaos around the globe. A Carrington Event today would be even worse. Credit: Boaworm \/ Wiki \/ CC BY 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Carrington Event explained<\/strong><\/h2>

The last big one occurred in 1859, and we know this because of a British amateur physicist, Richard Carrington.<\/p>

He had been drawing a big sunspot using specialist equipment to monitor the Sun and recorded his observations.<\/p>

Just 17 hours after Carrington confirmed the time of the flash, it was manifesting itself on planet Earth in dramatic fashion.<\/p>

The Northern Lights were seen as far south as the Caribbean.<\/p>

Telegraphs worked without electricity.<\/p>

A magnetometer station in Bombay observed a magnetic disturbance similar in size to the one that caused the 2003 blackout in Malm\u00f6, Sweden.<\/p>

\"The
The Halloween storms in October\u2013November 2003 included the largest solar flare to hit Earth in modern times, causing power blackouts. Credit: SOHO\/EIT (ESA & NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

A Carrington storm today<\/strong><\/h2>

If a Carrington storm occurred today, it would have significant consequences for our digital, hyper-connected society.<\/p>

An extreme solar event could lead to global air traffic restrictions because of heightened radiation doses at altitude.<\/p>

Satellites might malfunction and, without access to an atomic clock for precise timings, mobile networks could be unable to connect phone calls.<\/p>

Without connections to satellites, scientists would struggle to monitor the phenomenon.<\/p>

The recent solar event that caused the aurora display of May 2024<\/a> was not even close to Carrington scale \u2013 maybe three to five times smaller than what is expected during the most extreme case.<\/p>

It\u2019s not, therefore, alarmist to warn that the next extreme space weather<\/a> event could have a devastating impact on the planet as it grapples with the existential threat of climate change.<\/p>

\"A
A view of the 10\/11 May 2024 aurora display over the USA from space. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, VIIRS data from Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Photo by Gunjan Sinha.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

What can we do to prepare?<\/strong><\/h2>

Despite the anxious times we live in, there is hope.<\/p>

I\u2019m fortunate to be the chair of the Technology Academy Finland which awards the Millennium Technology Prize.<\/p>

This year is the 20th anniversary of its inauguration, with nominations for the \u20ac1 million prize submitted from 28 countries.<\/p>

In the two decades that the prize has been going, we have witnessed a multitude of innovations that are helping to deliver a better, cleaner and more sustainable world.<\/p>

\"Solar
Solar flare captured on 27 May 2024 by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: NASA SDO<\/figcaption><\/figure>

But even if the next Carrington storm were to last only a week, it would leave chaos behind and jeopardise this pivot to sustainability.<\/p>

For this reason, I believe we must monitor our near space as closely as the weather.<\/p>

This means sending hundreds of satellites to orbit Earth at different altitudes \u2013 and so more rocket exhausts in the atmosphere.\u00a0<\/p>

Is this a price worth paying? Yes. Because as Carrington realised: if we don\u2019t observe, we can\u2019t predict. <\/p>

And now, more than ever, we need to predict.<\/p>

This article appeared in the August 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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