Earlier this week, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded a rarely seen phenomenon: four near-simultaneous flare eruptions involving three separate sunspots and magnetic filaments between them. But as impressive as it is, this event could soon cause problems for some satellites and spacecraft orbiting Earth, as well as electronic systems on the ground.
Although it may look like a giant ball of fiery thermonuclear chaos, the Sun actually has a fairly predictable rhythm. Similar to Earth’s seasonal changes, the yellow dwarf’s strong electromagnetic fluctuations follow an approximately 11-year tidal cycle. Astronomers still don’t quite understand why this happens, but they do know that it’s observable, and recent activity confirms that the Sun is heading toward its next solar maximum later this year. It is shown in
as Spaceweather.com He said the “complex quartet” of solar activity early Tuesday was what is known as a “supersympathetic flare,” where multiple events occur almost simultaneously. This happens thanks to hard-to-detect magnetic loops that spread throughout the sun’s corona, potentially setting off explosive chain reactions in the process. In this case, the three separate flares were hundreds of thousands of miles apart, but still exploded within minutes of each other. Overall, the superresonant flare covered about one-third of the Sun’s total surface facing Earth.
[Related: Why our tumultuous sun was relatively quiet in the late 1600s]
And that “earth-facing” element can cause problems. BGR It explains that “at least some” of the electromagnetic “debris” may be on its way to Earth in the form of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). If so, those forces could cause colorful aurora borealis around the Earth’s poles, and also have potential technology implications for satellite arrays and orbiting spacecraft, not to mention power outages for some radio and GPS systems. may cause problems. It is estimated that any impact will be felt over the next day or so, but is expected to be at least a temporary inconvenience.
Fortunately, multiple flare situations like this week don’t happen often. The last time something similar happened was back in 2010. large eruption.
[Related: Hold onto your satellites: The sun is about to get a lot stormier]
Still, these highly empathetic flares are a solid reminder of how much our modern, electronically connected society is at the mercy of the sun. For example, as recently as 2022, a solar storm knocked about 40 Starlink satellites out of orbit. As the skies become increasingly crowded, the risk of solar problems will continue to increase.
Although many companies continue to build redundant programs and backup systems to guard against these potential problems, astronomers and physicists still cannot accurately predict solar activity. More research and funding is needed to create early warning and prediction programs.
Even just this year Already seen There are at least two other solar events, and given that we haven’t yet passed solar maximum, even more impressive (and possibly harmful) activity may be on the way.