In 2025, scientists expect the Sun to hit its solar maximum, the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. During this time, it’ll throw out powerful solar storms, which are bursts of energy and particles from the Sun. If a big solar storm hits Earth, it could disrupt satellites, mess up GPS, and even knock out power grids temporarily. Thankfully, Earth’s magnetic field acts like a shield, protecting us from the worst effects. However, the northern and southern lights (auroras) could light up the skies in places they’re not usually seen. While it’s not the end of the world, scientists and engineers are keeping a close watch to minimize any problems these solar storms might cause. Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00In September, 1859, scientists observed the first confirmed powerful solar flare.
00:08The Sun threw a large amount of radiation, energy, and plasma material into space.
00:13This was a massive and devastating disaster, but it happened 93 million miles away, so
00:19it probably wasn't such a big problem, right?
00:22Well, actually it was.
00:25A few hours after the flare was spotted, telegraph lines stopped working all over Europe and
00:30North America.
00:31Some of them sparked and caused fires.
00:34People realized that the Sun was not only the source of light and warmth, but also danger.
00:40Scientists called that day the Carrington Effect.
00:44The good news is that this happened in the middle of the 19th century and didn't cause
00:48serious problem for the planet.
00:50The bad news is that scientists are warning that in 2025, Earth will experience even more
00:56powerful solar storms caused by a coronal mass ejection.
01:01This is a giant cloud of plasma, or charged gas.
01:04At one time, the Sun can throw billions of tons of this material into space.
01:09Then all this flies at high speed through space.
01:12Some of the material can reach our planet in 15 hours, the rest in a few days.
01:18During the journey, it captures and accelerates any charged particles encountered along the
01:22way, which increases its intensity and power.
01:25And then, this unstoppable array of energy cratches into our planet.
01:31It heats the upper layers of the atmosphere, increases its thickness, and disturbs the
01:35work of satellites.
01:37They slow down and lose altitude.
01:40Communication with satellites becomes unstable, GPS is buggy, data is poorly transmitted.
01:45Also, solar-charged gas penetrates into our power grids, transformer booths, and stations.
01:52It leads to massive failures that ruin the work of the entire technological chain.
01:57A powerful solar attack on several power plants can trigger a power outage in a large city.
02:03The Internet, phones, social services, networks, nothing will work.
02:07We may lose connection with each other.
02:09Many large companies would go bankrupt, and the planet may face economic crisis.
02:15These are big problems, but not the most serious ones.
02:18Electric plants serve boiler houses and water pumping stations.
02:22Solar storms could stop water from getting to our homes.
02:25You wouldn't be able to buy groceries in stores without cash.
02:29Of course, we can restore all this, but we'll have to live in the Iron Age for a while.
02:34But the worst thing is that a prolonged solar storm can suspend food production.
02:39For example, this year, a geomagnetic storm caused by solar storms shut down GPS satellites
02:45that are connected with modern tractors, so farmers couldn't work.
02:50What would happen if such storms happened every day for a year?
02:54We would probably start missing many items in supermarkets.
02:57Besides, maritime navigation also depends on satellites.
03:01Thanks to them, ships calculate the latitude and longitude of their location.
03:06If the satellites are damaged, ships may get lost in the ocean.
03:10Even whales get lost in the ocean during magnetic storms.
03:13Many birds navigate with the help of magnetic field during long flights to the south.
03:18So, not only people, but also animals may experience serious problems.
03:23Solar storms heat the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere and thus make the air
03:27thicker.
03:28The movement of satellites slows down because of this air resistance.
03:32They lose altitude, and one of these satellites is Hubble.
03:36Yes, the very telescope that provides us with incredible pictures of space.
03:41Scientists say that it will fail much earlier because of solar attacks.
03:45You've probably heard on the news that solar activity has recently caused electromagnetic
03:50storms on Earth.
03:52But fortunately, it hasn't affected our lives in any way.
03:56The only problem was headaches, high pressure, and mood swings during those storms.
04:01It seems like an ordinary thing, but scientists don't have a consensus on this topic.
04:06No one has proven exactly how and why magnetic storms affect our condition.
04:11Yes, during storms, the planet's atmosphere becomes less dense, and perhaps this affects
04:17our blood pressure, like it happens when the weather changes.
04:20So, people with cardiovascular system problems should be careful.
04:24But the effect on our nervous system, fortunately, is quite insignificant.
04:29It's possible that when people hear about a coming magnetic storm and feel unwell, they
04:34experience a placebo effect.
04:36But there's also good news.
04:38All these charged solar particles interact with atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere.
04:43This interaction leads to beautiful northern lights.
04:46It's good to spend some time away from your gadgets and look up at the sky sometimes.
04:51One of the biggest storms occurred on March 13, 1989.
04:55On March 10, the Sun ejected a gigantic volume of coronal plasma.
05:00The amount of that material was the size of 36 Earths.
05:04The solar cloud was flying to us at a million miles per hour.
05:08And a couple of days later, it crashed into our planet's magnetic field.
05:12The collision caused a geomagnetic superstorm.
05:16People watched some of the brightest and most beautiful auroras in history.
05:20The light show covered most of the planet.
05:22But after a beautiful performance, problems followed.
05:26The solar storm was so powerful that it went through the atmosphere and reached Earth's
05:31surface.
05:32First, it disrupted the operation of satellites and then damaged electrical networks.
05:37For example, it destroyed a transformer at a nuclear power plant in New Jersey.
05:42Energy companies in Canada went down because of systems overloading.
05:46As a result, about 6 million people in northeastern Canada lost electricity for 9 hours.
05:52This was the largest power outage caused by a geomagnetic storm.
05:56Yeah, there were more powerful storms in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.
06:01But the planet wasn't covered by so many power grids at that time.
06:05More powerful storms may occur in 2025.
06:08The question is, will we be ready for them?
06:11Careful study of solar activity can help us prepare.
06:14If we know in advance about an upcoming storm, then scientists can switch off some systems
06:20and turn them on afterward, theoretically.
06:23If the activity of the Sun increases every year, then we'll have to come up with new
06:27innovative ways to protect ourselves.
06:29Who knows, maybe scientists will cover all our electrical appliances and stations with
06:34a layer of special protective material.
06:37Anyway, we must do everything possible not to harm Earth's magnetic field.
06:42Because if this shield disappears, the surface of our planet will resemble that of Mars.
06:48But what causes these solar storms, and why do they affect us so much?
06:52Okay, imagine a guy with a nice hairstyle who goes to bed.
06:56In the morning, his head is a complete mess.
06:59The magnetic fields of the Sun are similar to this tousled hair.
07:03When the Sun rotates, these fields burst, get tangled, stretch, and tear.
07:09At those moments, they release huge amounts of energy into space.
07:13This is not a problem for the Sun, as the fields are restored during the process called
07:18magnetic reconnection.
07:20Such emissions can cause trouble for the planets in our system.
07:23When magnetic reconnection happens, several phenomena can follow.
07:28One of them you've already heard about – it's a coronal mass ejection.
07:32But there's another terrible thing that the Sun does, and it's called solar flare.
07:37Imagine a bright burst of solar radiation containing electromagnetic waves, X-rays,
07:42radiation, and visible and ultraviolet light.
07:46During flares, the Sun releases an enormous amount of this destructive energy, and it
07:51spreads through space at the speed of light.
07:54It takes 8 minutes for this explosive wave to reach our planet.
07:58Fortunately, we don't get much damage from these flares because Earth's magnetic field
08:03and atmosphere protect us.
08:05Strong flares can disrupt radio waves in the upper atmosphere and affect the operation
08:09of satellites, but it's nothing critical.
08:13Another solar phenomenon is called a radiation storm.
08:16These are accelerated electrons and protons that move at a speed slightly less than the
08:21speed of light.
08:22Thanks to Earth's magnetic field, radiation storms don't harm our planet too much.
08:27But they pose a danger to astronauts and satellites.
08:30These particles can penetrate human tissues and lead to serious health problems in the
08:35way radiation does.
08:36But only if you're in space or flying a plane in the upper atmosphere.