The Sun is awakening from its long slumber, and has released an X-class solar flare that resulted in a coronal mass ejection (CME) being cast in the direction of Planet Earth. Although the flare itself was a relatively strong one, the geomagnetic effects from the charged particles are expected toread more
While the danger posed by major solar storms to our civilization’s power grids is well documented (such as Whitley’s must-read 2012 ebook on the subject, Solar Flares), the potential effects of such storms on another network vital to the functioning of our society—the internet—is not as well understood. A new studyread more
An X-9.3 solar flare exploded from sunspot AR 2673 at 1202 UT today, blacking out shortwave over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean as X-rays and UV radiation ionized Earth’s upper atmosphere. The explosion also generated a coronal mass ejection. It is still being modeled by NOAA to determine whether or not it is Earth-directed. According to SpaceWeather.com, this flare ranks as the #14th strongest since 1976.
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Released in 2012, Whitley Strieber’s ‘Solar Flares: What You Need to Know‘ put forward the urgent warning that if a coronal mass ejection of sufficient magnitude were to strike the Earth, as has happened in the past, it could destroy our electrical grid; a dangerous, and potentially civilization-ending scenario. Now, the United States government is heeding such warnings, having announced new plans to address such a threat.
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