Archive

Posts Tagged ‘electronics’

NASA issues warning of solar superstorm 2012: One billion could die

April 26, 2011 16 comments

helium

Could a superstorm generated by the sun destroy civilization as we know it in 2012?

No less than NASA thinks it’s a distinct possibility. In a remarkable move the normally conservative US space agency has taken the extraordinary step of warning the world.

The headlines reverberating around the world speak volumes: ‘Leaks discovered in Earth’s magnetic field,’ Solar storms to wreak havoc,’ ‘The end of life as we know it,’ ‘Magnetic shift to cause global superstorms.’

 Can such things really happen?

NASA and the European Space Agency say yes.

2012 and the rising specter of doom

Among all the countries with exposure to the solar devastation, the United States is the most susceptible. Read more…

Modern Society Threatened by Solar Storms

February 20, 2011 Comments off
Tuesday’s dramatic X-class solar flare triggered an Earth-bound CME, but the resulting solar storm wasn’t as powerful as expected.
NASA/SDO/AIA

 

The Earth just dodged a solar bullet. But it won’t be the last. Experts say a geomagnetic storm, sparked by a massive solar eruption similar to the one that flared toward the Earth on Tuesday, is bound to strike again, and the next one could wreak more havoc than the world has ever seen.

Modern society is increasingly vulnerable to space weather because of our dependence on satellite systems for synchronizing computers, navigational systems, telecommunications networks and other electronic devices.

A potent solar storm could disrupt these technologies, scorch satellites, crash stock markets and cause months-long power outages, experts said Saturday at the Read more…