An “enormous” solar storm that struck ancient Earth has provided a stark warning another event of this size could be around the corner. Revealed by analysis of chemicals preserved in Greenland ice, the storm around 2,600 years ago was 10 times stronger than anything detected in 70 years of modern measurements. While the people of 660 BC had little to fear, such episodes would be of grave concern today given their capacity to destroy satellites, communications and electrical systems. Solar storms are triggered by flares of cosmic particles streaming towards Earth, bombarding its magnetic field and interfering with various technologies. Although just the third storm of its kind identified so far, the scientists said this was more evidence these major events had been underestimated, and must be urgently defended against. Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 — more commonly known as WR 124 — and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. 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The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called “draa” Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region “We don’t know the statistics of how often these events occur – but what I would say is that we now know it probably happens on a regular basis,” Dr Raimund Muscheler from Lund University told The Independent. “If that solar storm had occurred today, it could have had severe effects on our high-tech society.” Relatively minor solar storms that have struck in recent years have caused extensive power cuts in parts of Canada and Sweden. Recommended Scientists prepare for solar storm that could destroy technology Previously, scientists have warned about the devastation that could result from larger storms striking the planet, but it has been difficult to guess when they might strike. To find clues about the regularity of such events, Dr Muscheler and his colleagues took polar ice samples and tested them for molecules formed by solar particles entering the atmosphere – which spiked in the ice dating back to 660BC. Considering previous events that have been identified from the years 775 and 994, the scientists concluded these outbursts are probably a normal part of the Sun’s cycle. ✕ Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events To those alive at the time of the last major events, it is likely the only observable effect would have been comparably pleasant as particles from the Sun blasted into the planet. “People would have suddenly observed northern lights in very low latitudes,” said Dr Muscheler. However, given their capacity for destruction, the scientists said this threat must be taken seriously, with adaptation strategies considered both for land and space-based systems. The new results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<doc-sep>News, Science Posted on Mar 11, 2019 in Climate Change “If that solar storm had occurred today, it could have had severe effects on our high-tech society,” says Raimund Muscheler, professor of geology at Lund University, Sweden. The researchers confirmed that Earth was hit by two extreme solar storms more than 1,000 years ago. New research indicates that solar storms can be even more powerful than measurements have shown so far via direct observations. The new, international study, led by researchers from Lund University, used ice cores to find clues about previous solar storms. The cores come from Greenland and contain ice formed over the past 100,000 years. The material contains evidence of a very powerful solar storm that occurred in 660 BCE. Solar storms can be far more powerful than previously thought. A new study has found evidence for the third known case of a massive solar storm in historical times. The researchers believe that society might not be sufficiently prepared if a similar event were to happen now. Earth is constantly being bombarded by cosmic particles. However, the stream of particles is particularly strong when a solar storm sweeps past. Solar storms are made up of high-energy particles unleashed from the sun by explosions on the star’s surface. For the past 70 years, researchers have studied these solar storms by direct instrumental observations, which has led to an understanding that they can pose a risk to the electrical grid, communication systems, satellites and air traffic. Two examples of severe solar storms in modern times that caused extensive power outages took place in Quebec, Canada, (1989) and Malmö, Sweden (2003). Muscheler also took part in research that confirmed the existence of two other massive solar storms, using both ice cores and the annual growth rings of old trees. These storms took place in 775 and 994 CE. He points out that even though these massive solar storms are rare, the new discovery shows that they are a naturally recurring effect of solar activity. “That’s why we must increase society’s protection against solar storms,” he says. Today’s risk assessment is largely based on direct observations made over the past 70 years, but Raimund Muscheler suggests that there is a need for a reassessment in view of the three massive solar storms that have now been discovered. He argues that there is a need for greater awareness of the possibility of very strong solar storms and the vulnerability of society. “Our research suggests that the risks are currently underestimated. We need to be better prepared,” concludes Muscheler. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Explore further: Traces of enormous solar storms in the ice of Greenland and Antarctica Source: Paschal O’Hare el al., “Multiradionuclide evidence for an extreme solar proton event around 2,610 B.P. (∼660 BC),” PNAS (2019). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1815725116 Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences The Daily Galaxy, Jake Burba, via Lund University<doc-sep>
Close An enormous solar storm has once devastated the Earth and could be brewing up just around the corner. The storm that changed the face of the earth about 2,600 years ago was ten times stronger than what people predicted it to be using the most technologically advanced tools. While people of 660 BC did not fear for they didn't know what was coming, the effect of such news to modern society would be totally different. Everyone would be concern about how it would affect satellites, electrical system, and communications all over the world. Solar storms are known to be triggered by flares of cosmic particles that stream towards the orbit of the Earth. It brings with it a huge magnetic field that could interfere with various technologies of the world, not to mention the damage it could cause to satellites orbiting the earth's atmosphere. Although it is only the third kind of storm of its kind that has been identified by scientists, the experts say that people have the tendency to underestimate such types of storms and that they urge everyone to become more vigilant. "We don't have any idea when these things could occur and how often they would take place. What we could only say now is that it probably could happen repeatedly several times in a lifetime," Dr. Raimund Muscheler, a professor at Lund University, told The Independent. "If the storm happened today, its destructive effect on today's technology would have been massive." There have been relatively minor space storms that have struck the atmosphere in recent years. Such storms have caused the loss of electricity in both Canada and Sweden. Previously, scientists have warned the people of the devastation it is causing the earth and such would bring about storms in the atmosphere that could cause huge destruction of people's technology. Such devastation could cause bigger storms to come. The difficult part is predicting when these storms would come and what countries would be affected by it. Considering the previous effects the space storm has on Earth, scientists have concluded that these space storms are probably a normal part of the Sun's survival cycle. To those who were alive at that time, the space storm may have only given them comparably pleasant effects. For example, they might have seen the Northern Lights in a relatively lower altitude. However, given the capacity of the space storm to cause destruction on Earth and its technology, the scientists say that such a threat should be a cause for alarm. "People should take it more seriously, considering both land and space adaptation strategies," said Dr. Muscheler.