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Evidence of an "enormous" solar storm that struck the Earth thousands of years ago has caused fears that a similar event will happen again.
According to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the ancient storm that struck the Earth about 2,600 years ago was 10 times more powerful than any solar storm detected over the past 70 years years – powerful enough to destroy modern electronics.
Even the small solar storms of modern times have caused widespread power outages in Sweden and Canada.
And although scientists have already warned of the dangers of solar storms exploding the planet, it's hard to predict where and when they could hit.
Researchers at Sweden's Lund University have examined ice cores and tree rings for traces of sun storms.
They discovered that the planet had been covered with high energy particles in 660 BC. J. – C. and again in 775 and 994.
For people living at the time, the only major effect of huge solar storms would be that aurora borealis would be visible at very low latitudes.
But if such an event had occurred in modern times, they would have destroyed power grids, GPS technology and computer networks.
Raimund Muscheler, who was part of the research team, told The Independent: "We do not know the statistics on the frequency of these events, but what I would say is that we know this is probably happening. regularly.
"If this solar storm had occurred today, it could have had serious effects on our high-tech society."
He added: "We need to strengthen protection against solar storms."
In 2012, a huge coronal mass ejection that could have wiped out the electronics missed the Earth in just nine days.
The event was comparable to the Carrington event of 1859, during which telegraph operators were experiencing electric shocks and sparks from pylons.
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