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.
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