The Sun has been throwing a series of temper tantrums lately, and as you’d be right to conclude that’s not great news for Planet Earth. In September the sun started firing out solar flares, seven of them in seven days. This series of X-class flares, the most powerful sun storm category, escalated to the point of warnings being issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center of potential navigation system disruptions and high-frequency radio blackouts.
These solar storms wreak havoc on Earth’s magnetic field, which in turn directly affects just about everything we rely on for communications (and some might argue survival in general). In theory, as humans become more reliant on technology, the more dangerous these storms could become. Some astrophysicists are even proposing the construction of a $100-billion magnetic deflector shield. Not everyone in the science community thinks that would help, but they did send that statement out through email and social media which would be rendered useless if a major solar storm does eventually hit us…
Story by Jay Moon
Sources
- Future Solar Storms Could Cause Devastating Damage
- What Would Happen if a Massive Solar Storm Hit the Earth?
- Monster Solar Flare Marks 7th Powerful Sun Storm in 7 Days
- Sun Unleashes Monster Solar Flare, Strongest in a Decade
