Can you imagine a world without the internet these days? Neither do we. Everybody is online, but this could change as a result of a powerful solar storm. The Sun can switch from being our great friend, as it supports all life forms, to an evil foe
The tragic news of a solar storm that can possibly disrupt the internet is brought by an Indian researcher, according to tech.hindustantimes.com.
Tremendously costly damages to the infrastructure
Pretty much everything in society nowadays is operated through the internet. It’s obvious that if a solar storm of great magnitude strikes, it will cause huge damages.
A solar storm is a popular term for Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). A CME means a huge release from the solar corona of plasma and accompanying magnetic field. The plasma can be observed in coronagraph imagery, and it’s released into the solar wind.
Solar flares reaching the surface of our planet and triggering regional blackouts have occurred in the past. Therefore, an even more powerful one coming “uninvited” is indeed plausible someday.
The largest geomagnetic perturbation that was ever recorded, according to Wikipedia, and possibly resulting from a coronal mass ejection that hit the magnetosphere of the Earth, was a solar storm event from 1859. That event started fires, and it took down parts of the US telegraph network.
Over one million planets similar in size to Earth would fit inside the Sun – that’s how big our star is! Also, the Sun accounts for more than 99% of the mass of our solar system. Once we get too close to it, our star won’t hesitate to “show its fangs”. Nobody can mess with the laws of nature, unfortunately or not!
