Every eleven years, on average, the Sun reaches the peak of its activity cycle and throws a cosmic hissy fit. The Earth, and the rest of the solar system, must endure a burst of solar flares and coronal mass ejections(CMEs) spewing solar particles and electromagnetic radiation. As long as the Sun’s meltdown is mild to moderate, we should skate through it without too much trouble, but if things go wrong in just the right way, the results could be catastrophic.
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A Powerful CME Could Trigger an “Internet Apocalypse”
Solar flares and CMEs don’t pose much of a threat to us directly; you don’t have to worry about being struck down by a beam of solar energy or anything. Mostly, the way we experience them is through aurora which light up the night sky near the poles and, during periods of heightened solar activity, closer to the equator. However, they can cause problems for satellites or astronauts in low-Earth orbit, and they can mess with our communications and electrical systems here on the ground.How the Parker Solar Probe Might Save the Day
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) launched in 2018 and has spent the last several years flying circles around the Sun, winding its way ever nearer. Recently, astronomers reported that the PSP has flown close enough to the Sun to detect the fine structure of the solar wind, at the point of its creation. Ordinarily, many of those details are lost as the solar wind expands outward into the solar system. It’s sort of like trying to figure out the mechanics of a water stream without looking at the source. The new PSP observations allow astronomers to stick their noses right into the Sun’s hose nozzle, as it were.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Could Prevent an “Internet Apocalypse”
Every eleven years, on average, the Sun reaches the peak of its activity cycle and throws a cosmic hissy fit. The Earth, and the rest of the solar system, must endure a burst of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) spewing solar particles and electromagnetic radiation. As long as the...
