"Scientists Warn of Devastating Solar Storms Impacting Earth in 2012/2013"
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 June 21, 2010
NASA scientists warn that the Sun could soon trigger massive space storms as early as 2012 which may knock out power and communication systems on Earth.
At the Space Weather Enterprise Forum 2010 held in Washington D.C. on June 8, scientists discussed the expected increase in solar activity toward the sun's 11-year peak -- or "solar maximum" -- due in 2013. Solar maximum brings an increased frequency of solar flares and massive coronal mass ejections (as shown in the main image, observed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph in 2001), some of which will be aimed in our direction.
During this period, scientists believe, there would be fiery explosions having the power of 100 hydrogen bombs that could cause twenty times more economic damage than Hurricane Katrina.
Smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity. The Northern Lights may become visible as far south as Rome, Havana and Hawaii!
Worried about the possible impact of such storms on our planet, scientists at the Space Weather Enterprise Forum 2010 in Washington to discuss how to protect Earth from the ferocious flares, which are expected sometime around 2013. Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research forecasts that the date of the next solar max will be around 2012.
"We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be," said Richard Fisher, the director of Nasa's Heliophysics division.
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Solar flares can disrupt radio transmissions, cause power outages (blackouts), and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission lines. |
"It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car navigations, air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is electronic. It will cause major problems for the world."
"Large areas will be without electricity power and to repair that damage will be hard as that takes time."
"Systems will just not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the earth that is rapid and like a lightning bolt. That is the solar effect."
In 1921, a solar storm induced ground currents that crippled the New York transit system. In 1989, another solar storm brought down the entire Quebec power grid, leaving 6 million people in the cold without power.
Although this sounds alarming, and there should be concern, the likelihood of a catastrophic happening remains very low.
However, the Gulf oil spill is teaching us a very valuable lesson: It's better to be prepared for a potential major incident than be left flat-footed. |
