A solar storm can be really scary. So, how destructive would a most intense solar storm be if it struck Earth? Find out.
The Sun has entered a new solar maximum, which is characterized by higher activity resulting in frequent ambient mass ejections (CMEs). That means the threat of a giant solar storm hitting Earth has increased dramatically. However, most of us do not understand the true destructive power of a solar storm. Aside from minor incidents of temporary cellular network outages or warning power supply cuts, the only way we remember solar or geomagnetic storms is by looking for the aurora or northern lights. These wonderfully patterned lights cover the entire sky near the northern hemisphere in stunning colors. But if the intensity of a solar storm is really high, a similar solar storm can have devastating consequences. History is filled with such examples, the most famous of which is the Carrington Incident.
The Carrington event: When a solar storm disrupted the global telegraph system
About a century and a half ago, on September 1 and 2, 1859, a large solar storm hit the Earth and immediately caused a global failure of the telegraph system. The telegraph workers said they received electric shocks when they touched the devices, the telegraph paper spontaneously ignited and some devices started operating without being connected. This event is now known as the Carrington Event when a severe storm caused a disaster for the telegraph system.
Why are solar storms so scary?
The sun releases large amounts of energy containing visible light, ultraviolet and infrared rays, gamma rays as well as electromagnetic radiation. This is a massive blast of energy millions of kilometers into space. These are called CMEs. When this burst of energy reaches Earth, it creates a geomagnetic storm. While Earth’s atmosphere protects us from much of this outburst, if the solar storm was large enough it would penetrate deep into the ground, which is what it did during the Carrington Event. The storm at the time devastated the telegraph network, but in those days, there was hardly any electrical infrastructure. By 2022, everything has changed. There is a huge amount of technology in the lives of most people on Earth. Since most of our communication technology works wirelessly (using satellites as a means of communication) any interference with the waves can cause malfunction and even complete destruction of our satellites. this machine.
The Carrington event is the largest solar storm event on record. But it is certainly not an isolated incident. There was the Miyake event in 774 AD, where an even more severe solar storm hit the Earth. Evidence of it can still be seen in the ice cores in the Arctic. Various studies have shown that the Mikaye event is almost 12 times stronger than the Carrington event. What it does show is that what happened in 1859 was not an isolated event. We’ve been incredibly lucky to have not experienced a severe solar storm in the last 100 years, and that has allowed us to build technology at a rapid pace and propel swarms of satellites into the sky.
But the Carrington incident is a reminder. No matter how peaceful it is, any day the Sun can throw us a solar storm so great that it can make all our modern means of communication including cellular networks. (mobile phones), internet, GPS systems, power grids and emergency services had to shut down and take us right back to the stone age.
