A solar storm is going to hit the Earth, should we be worried? This is what we know



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On Monday July 12, a high-speed solar storm will approach our planet at a speed of 1.6 million km / h and affect the electricity supply and communications infrastructure. According to the latest forecasts, signals from cell phones, satellite TV, power grids and GPS navigation will be affected. According to the US Space Weather Prediction Center, the solar flare is expected to be at level X1. Solar flares are classified as Class A, Class B, followed by C, M, and X. As such, Class X flares are the largest in terms of magnitude. The number suffix 1 indicates the strength of the solar flare.

Earlier on July 3 at 10:29 a.m., the Sun emitted an intense solar flare that was classified as a Class X1.5 flare. It caused a temporary blackout over the Atlantic.

On Saturday July 10, the Planetary Society tweeted, “The power of the Sun should never be underestimated. In March 1989, the entire Canadian province of Quebec suffered a 12-hour power outage caused by a solar storm. Today’s solar tariff is unlikely to cause a geomagnetic solar flare or create 12-hour blackouts.

Solar flares are intense explosions that occur on the surface of the sun. They are caused when the energy stored in magnetic fields is suddenly released. As such, they send radiation across the length and breadth of the solar system. This radiation, which comes in the form of radio waves, x-rays and gamma rays, then travels to the planets of the solar system. They transfer their energy into the earth’s magnetic field and ionize the top of the planet’s atmosphere.

When rapid solar flares hit the Earth’s magnetosphere, they can trigger a geomagnetic storm. Such a storm affects satellites, disrupts GPS navigation, cell phone signals and satellite television. They can also affect power grids in some parts of the world. The largest solar storms are associated with coronal mass ejections (CME), in which tons of plasma travel towards planets, including Earth. CMEs can take days to reach Earth, however, some arrive within 15-18 hours.

Apparently, the largest solar storm to date occurred in 1859 during the Carrington event. Around this time, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) roasted telegraph poles across the world. In 2014, NASA warned that such an eruption would have a huge impact on modern electricity grids and telecommunications channels around the world. The National Academy of Sciences has estimated a loss of more than 1.45 trillion pounds sterling ($ 2 trillion) in damage. Interestingly, Earth narrowly avoided a Carrington-level CME in July 2012.



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