Plasma clouds sweeping from the Sun during solar storms - the so-called coronal mass ejections - under certain conditions can bring to Earth not only beautiful auroras, but also a serious catastrophe. Could the plasma strikes of solar storms create something apocalyptic on Earth?
American researchers from NASA, studying the solar storm of July 2012 - the most powerful in 150 years - came to the conclusion that earthlings miraculously escaped a terrible catastrophe. After all, had a solar storm happened just a week earlier, two huge clouds of plasma would certainly have hit the Earth.
The consequences of such a blow to the Earth would be catastrophic! Such a protective chain mail of the Earth as the magnetosphere would not be able to fully withstand the impact. As a result, the magnetic field emitted by plasma clouds could disrupt electronic communications on the planet.
According to the confident conclusion of specialists in this issue, our civilization could be thrown back several centuries! Plasma damage could reach $ 2 trillion.
Everything would be lost; satellites, electrification systems - navigation and mobile communication networks would fail, transformers would burn out. Only protected systems - military communications - will be able to withstand such a blow.
For comparison, the superstorm that occurred in 1859 is given. The solar emission of plasma clouds that took place then paralyzed the telegraph network of Europe and North America (telegraph devices were enveloped in clouds of sparks).
But you must admit that the current infrastructure on which a person relies in his life - without which he can no longer imagine his existence - is much more developed than 150 years ago.
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Solar storm is a problem on Earth
Most people, American researchers say, would not even be able to clean their toilets. Since the operation of the city's water supply system depends on the operation of electric motors, which will burn out during a strong geomagnetic storm (however, for many residents of Russia, the issue of toilets is not so relevant).
A solar storm that broke out in 1989 for 9 hours stopped the power supply system of Quebec - in terms of power it was much weaker than the superstorm. All this suggests that modern technologies are highly dependent on solar emissions and the stability of the magnetosphere.
The forecast of American scientists, if plasma clouds like the solar ejection of the summer of 2012 hit the Earth, is scary:
This is the eerie conclusion of scientists for the inhabitants of America, if the "wind" from the solar superstorm touches the Earth.
American physicist Pete Riley tried to predict the likelihood of a powerful superstorm formation, and a possible impact on the Earth.
In February 2014, the scientist published an article based on his own calculations and suggested: in the next 10 years, the probability of the formation of such a superstorm capable of harming the planet reaches 12 percent. - frankly speaking, the percentage is small, but there is a probability.
It is not possible to predict the time of the appearance of solar flares. Scientists of our time predict the formation of solar emissions based on the analysis of the solar magnetic fields. However, NASA can predict solar flares up to 3 days. Since the magnetic structure of the Sun is extremely unstable, even a weekly forecast is impossible.
Meanwhile, the speed of plasma clouds in the event of a coronal mass ejection - as it was in the summer of 2012 - can be over 2 thousand km / second. If the energetic clouds of plasma hit the bull's-eye, then the disaster scenario could become a nightmarish reality.