Zürcher Nachrichten - 'Danger behind the beauty': more solar storms could be heading our way

EUR -
AED 3.833929
AFN 72.964627
ALL 98.46974
AMD 410.482288
ANG 1.873176
AOA 958.225718
ARS 1067.049356
AUD 1.666857
AWG 1.878875
AZN 1.774753
BAM 1.956192
BBD 2.098621
BDT 124.204899
BGN 1.955601
BHD 0.393707
BIF 3072.916014
BMD 1.043819
BND 1.411583
BOB 7.18244
BRL 6.345171
BSD 1.039408
BTN 88.363714
BWP 14.36588
BYN 3.401482
BYR 20458.857295
BZD 2.089319
CAD 1.499044
CDF 2995.761523
CHF 0.932872
CLF 0.037419
CLP 1032.493641
CNY 7.618524
CNH 7.626712
COP 4582.366506
CRC 524.405125
CUC 1.043819
CUP 27.66121
CVE 110.288166
CZK 25.107024
DJF 185.087104
DKK 7.457963
DOP 63.292688
DZD 140.787225
EGP 53.141149
ERN 15.657289
ETB 129.565873
FJD 2.416861
FKP 0.826686
GBP 0.830192
GEL 2.932544
GGP 0.826686
GHS 15.279063
GIP 0.826686
GMD 75.155158
GNF 8979.80014
GTQ 8.008605
GYD 217.453592
HKD 8.110632
HNL 26.384289
HRK 7.487217
HTG 135.977259
HUF 413.947568
IDR 16892.022536
ILS 3.800124
IMP 0.826686
INR 88.789872
IQD 1361.572948
IRR 43931.739655
ISK 145.100882
JEP 0.826686
JMD 162.6226
JOD 0.740171
JPY 163.472813
KES 134.652506
KGS 90.812117
KHR 4176.837312
KMF 486.550268
KPW 939.436741
KRW 1514.367737
KWD 0.321486
KYD 0.866174
KZT 545.859426
LAK 22749.560501
LBP 93075.658456
LKR 305.161174
LRD 188.647817
LSL 19.135536
LTL 3.082127
LVL 0.631396
LYD 5.107024
MAD 10.460797
MDL 19.144838
MGA 4903.983079
MKD 61.525545
MMK 3390.284206
MNT 3546.897675
MOP 8.320868
MRU 41.336286
MUR 48.913424
MVR 16.053629
MWK 1801.846919
MXN 20.952657
MYR 4.68883
MZN 66.703943
NAD 19.135536
NGN 1614.214134
NIO 38.247667
NOK 11.807501
NPR 141.382342
NZD 1.845201
OMR 0.401881
PAB 1.039408
PEN 3.870376
PGK 4.214845
PHP 61.194942
PKR 289.308896
PLN 4.260197
PYG 8104.624697
QAR 3.78906
RON 4.974944
RSD 116.979037
RUB 107.409252
RWF 1448.890453
SAR 3.92095
SBD 8.750916
SCR 14.556008
SDG 627.860716
SEK 11.499026
SGD 1.414476
SHP 0.826686
SLE 23.801056
SLL 21888.370918
SOS 594.01908
SRD 36.670438
STD 21604.951007
SVC 9.094823
SYP 2622.627433
SZL 19.130835
THB 35.739849
TJS 11.370679
TMT 3.663806
TND 3.311964
TOP 2.444727
TRY 36.745676
TTD 7.054414
TWD 34.11671
TZS 2520.823735
UAH 43.591038
UGX 3812.764328
USD 1.043819
UYU 46.359293
UZS 13400.686375
VES 53.730883
VND 26550.586436
VUV 123.924312
WST 2.883851
XAF 656.088523
XAG 0.035222
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.820974
XDR 0.792859
XOF 656.088523
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.346218
ZAR 19.100702
ZMK 9395.631657
ZMW 28.764766
ZWL 336.109373
  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

'Danger behind the beauty': more solar storms could be heading our way
'Danger behind the beauty': more solar storms could be heading our way / Photo: Sanka Vidanagama - AFP/File

'Danger behind the beauty': more solar storms could be heading our way

Tourists normally have to pay big money and brave cold climates for a chance to see an aurora, but last weekend many people around the world simply had to look up to see these colourful displays dance across the sky.

Text size:

Usually banished to the poles of Earth, the auroras strayed as far as Mexico, southern Europe and South Africa on the evening of May 10, delighting skygazers and filling social media with images of exuberant pinks, greens and purples.

But for those charged with protecting Earth from powerful solar storms such as the one that caused the auroras, a threat lurks beneath the stunning colours.

"We need to understand that behind this beauty, there is danger," Quentin Verspieren, the European Space Agency's space safety programme coordinator, told AFP.

Mike Bettwy of the US Space Weather Prediction Center said that "we're focused on the more sinister potential impacts" of solar storms, such as taking out power grids and satellites, or exposing astronauts to dangerous levels of radiation.

The latest auroras were caused by the most powerful geomagnetic storm since the "Halloween Storms" of October 2003, which sparked blackouts in Sweden and damaged power infrastructure in South Africa.

There appears to have been less damage from the latest solar storms, though it often takes weeks for satellite companies to reveal problems, Bettwy said.

There were reports that some self-driving farm tractors in the United States stopped in their tracks when their GPS guidance systems went out due to the storm, he told AFP.

- 'Definitely not over' -

These strange effects are caused by massive explosions on the surface of the Sun that shoot out plasma, radiation and even magnetic fields at incredibly fast speeds born on the solar wind.

The recent activity has come from a sunspot cluster 17 times the size of Earth which has continued raging over the week. On Tuesday it blasted out the strongest solar flare seen in years.

The sunspot has been turning towards the edge of the Sun's disc, so activity is expected to die down in the short term as its outbursts aim away from our planet.

But in roughly two weeks the sunspot will swing back around, again turning its gaze towards Earth.

In the meantime, another sunspot is "coming into view right now" which could trigger "major activity in the coming days", ESA space weather service coordinator Alexi Glover told AFP.

So the solar activity is "definitely not over", she added.

It is difficult to predict how violent these sunspots could be -- or whether they could spark further auroras.

But solar activity is only just approaching the peak of its roughly 11-year cycle, so the odds of another major storm are highest "between now and the end of next year", Bettwy said.

- What threat do solar storms pose? -

Geomagnetic storms such as the recent one create a magnetic charge of voltage and current, "essentially overloading" things like satellites and power grids, according to Bettwy.

The most famous example came in 1859 during the worst solar storm in recorded history, called the Carrington Event.

As well as stunning auroras, the storm caused sparks to fly off of telegraph stations. The charge that originated from the Sun was so strong that some telegraphs worked without being plugged into a power source.

So what would happen if such a powerful geomagnetic storm struck Earth again?

Bettwy said most countries have improved their power grids, which should prevent prolonged outages like those that hit Sweden in 2003 or Canada in 1989.

Still, he suggested people have an emergency kit in case electricity is knocked out for a day or two. Fresh water might also help in case filtration plants go offline.

Astronauts are particularly at risk from radiation during extreme solar activity. Those on the International Space Station usually take the best shelter they can when a bad storm is expected.

Bettwy said a massive solar storm could expose astronauts to an "unhealthy dose" of radiation, but he did not think it would be lethal.

Emphasising that he did not want to "instil fear", Bettwy added that radiation can also potentially "get through the fuselage" of planes flying near the north pole.

Airlines sometimes change routes during extreme solar storms to avoid this happening, he added.

Several upcoming missions are expected to improve forecasting of the Sun's intense and unpredictable weather, aiming to give Earth more time to prepare.

O.Meier--NZN