According to The Independent According to research, these super solar storms can flare up extremely strongly about once every 100 years, much more often than scientists previously predicted. Previously, studies suggested that the average time between solar superstorms was 1,000 or 10,000 years.
Illustration of a super solar storm
Explaining the research conclusions, Dr. Sami Solanki – study co-author said: “We have not been able to observe the sun for thousands of years. However, instead, we can monitor its behavior.” behavior of thousands of stars very similar to the sun in a short time”.
Data was recorded by scientists from 56,450 Earth-like stars observed by NASA’s Kepler telescope from 2009 – 2014. During the observations, researchers discovered 2,889 superstorms on 2,527 stars observed, from which we conclude that the frequency occurs about once per century.
“We were surprised that sun-like stars are prone to superstorms so frequently,” said Dr. Valeriy Vasilyev, an author of the above study.
A super solar storm can contain more destructive power than billions of atomic bombs. It can release energy up to 1 octillion (one billion billion billion) joules. This level of energy is 100 times stronger than the Carrington event in 1859, which caused telegraph stations to spark and catch fire.
If a similar superstorm were to occur today, the consequences would be much more serious due to our increasing dependence on satellite communication networks. The risk of a potential solar superstorm outbreak could cause power grids to overload, satellites to be pushed out of orbit, global communications networks to be paralyzed and a series of aircraft around the world forced to ground. dynamic.
Dr Natalie Krivova from the Max Planck Institute commented: “This new data is an alarming reminder that even the most extreme phenomena fall within the category of natural solar activity.”
Faced with the above risk, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch the Vigil satellite in 2031. This satellite will be placed at an angle of 60 degrees from the sun to provide early warning of solar storms before they occur. they attack the earth.
