Sky watchers have been busy this past week looking for signs of the current solar storm.
While this solar storm is part of a cycle of sunspots that occurs about every eleven years, the current storm is somewhat abnormal.
“The current events are unusual and of considerable note because we are quite a ways past the maximum of this cycle,” University of Wisconsin Professor of Astronomy Christopher Anderson said.
At the beginning of the eleven-year cycle of sunspots, the magnetic field is weak and dominated by plasma motion or by the motion of the sun’s outermost layers of hot, partly ionized gas.
The magnetic field of the sun stores a large amount of energy while the outer layers of the sun stretch and intensify the field to create more chaos. After several years of this, the magnetic field increases to the point that it dominates the plasma, and this creates a very unstable situation, Anderson said.
When the fields are extremely unstable, they instantly release their energy and an ejection of charged particles accelerate at a speed of 1000 kilometers per second.
“By five or six years into the cycle, there is a huge amount of energy stored up and the frequency of the [solar storms] increases rapidly,” Anderson said.
The maximum point in the cycle, after about seven years, occurred last year. Small and continuous solar flares are most frequent at this time.
These solar outbursts include radiation from the charged particles, which can create a stunning aurora of light as the particles crash into Earth’s magnetic field.
“If a particular eruption happens to be pointed in the direction of Earth, about a day later we see the effects,” Anderson said.
A variety of space agencies record space weather. Two of the most powerful solar flares in recorded history have been documented within the past week.
According to the European Space Agency, excess radiation could physically damage satellites and create a threat to astronauts.
Several warnings were issued last week to warn of excess radiation. Last Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration recommended that planes fly below 25,000 feet at latitudes above 35 degrees north and south. The administration called off the warning the next day, stating that the levels were not in the excessive range.
Other possible effects of the solar flares include power outages. History shows that the impact of solar storms on Earth have caused damage to television satellites, pagers, gas stations, credit card machines, automated teller machines, and sometimes even cellular telephones.
“Since the big Canadian power failure caused by a solar storm in the mid-1970s, a lot of effort has been put into making the power grid more ‘fault tolerant’ and making circuit breakers and switches smarter and more robust,” Anderson said.
While solar storms have not been indicated in causing too many major power outages, there is a small possibility that the currents generated by the flares could disrupt utility operations.
“Solar weather should be taken into serious consideration. The indirect effects of the storms are indicated in a wide variety of technologies, and research should be undertaken to understand these links,” UW junior Jill Kelsey said.
