00:00The Sun is getting ready to flip as its magnetic poles are reversing.
00:04Similar to Earth, the Sun has a magnetic north and a magnetic south.
00:08But unlike Earth, the reversing process of the Sun's poles is more frequent and easier to predict.
00:15The next flipping is expected to take place this year, between April and August.
00:20As apocalyptic as it might sound, you don't have to worry.
00:23If you're around 30, you've already experienced this phenomenon more than once, as the Sun flips every 11 years.
00:30You probably didn't notice any changes back then, because this process doesn't impact Earth's life so much.
00:37But this time, things might be a little different.
00:42On Earth, ocean currents are movements that play a crucial role in influencing both climate and weather
00:48by distributing heat from the equator to the poles.
00:51On the Sun, these currents are more like an ocean of plasma.
00:55But they not only transport heat, but also carry electromagnetic energy.
01:00That happens because the Sun is a huge ball of hot and ionized gases that keep flowing inside its core.
01:09By fusing together hydrogen atoms and forming helium, our star releases a massive amount of energy,
01:15leading to these very heavy-flowing electric currents.
01:18And whenever you have currents, you have magnetic fields.
01:22It's easier to understand if you think of that classic experiment with a wire and a nail
01:27that you probably conducted in elementary school.
01:30When electricity flows through a wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire.
01:35So when you connect a wire to a battery and wrap it around a nail, the nail becomes a magnet.
01:41This is similar to how electric currents create magnetic fields on the Sun.
01:45This whole process, with the help of which the Sun generates its magnetic field, is called a dynamo.
01:52We can't observe it directly, but we can see its effects on the Sun's surface.
01:57When plasma and magnetism flows become unstable and intense, they manifest as sunspots.
02:03You know, those dark areas on the Sun's surface?
02:06Much about how the dynamo works remains a mystery.
02:10But scientists have learned something important after observing these sunspots for centuries.
02:16The dynamo process follows a pattern.
02:19About every decade, it reorganizes itself.
02:22The Sun's polar magnetic fields get weakened, eventually reaching zero.
02:26And then they return, but with the opposite polarity.
02:29Back in the 50s, researchers figured out that when sunspots start to ramp up and become more intense,
02:37it means the poles are gearing up for a reversal.
02:40And over the past few years, solar activity has been off the charts.
02:44We're talking about more solar flares, more electromagnetic radiation bursts,
02:49and more plasma blobs being ejected into space.
02:52It's like we're sitting in the front row at the solar system's most epic fireworks display.
02:57In fact, the Sun hasn't been this lively in probably two decades.
03:03Right now, experts think the polar fields are almost in sync and steadily weakening,
03:08inching closer and closer to zero.
03:11But we haven't reached the point of reversal yet.
03:15Although it might sound like the Sun flips its magnetic poles like clockwork every 11 years,
03:21the truth is that it's not as neat as it seems.
03:23This path can be bumpy, and some aspects of the phenomenon are still very hard to predict.
03:30Take the last solar cycle, for example.
03:33The Northern Hemisphere started its magnetic flip back in early June 2012,
03:38but then it kind of hit a snag and lingered around the neutral point until late 2014.
03:43Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, things were smoother,
03:46with the polarity switching over in mid-2013.
03:49This time around, the Sun is actually playing nice.
03:54Things seem to be running way smoother this cycle, with the poles transitioning more evenly.
03:59But here's the thing.
04:00Reversal processes are never the same.
04:03That's what makes this phenomenon so interesting to observe.
04:06But at the same time, it's hard to predict how it'll affect us down here.
04:10Here on Earth, we don't have to worry too much about those intense Sun explosions happening 93 million miles away.
04:19But if, and I emphasize if, a solar storm were to reach our planet,
04:24the main threat it would bring would probably be the disruption of communication satellites in space.
04:30However, things might be different in this cycle reversal happening in 2024,
04:35because the number of satellites has skyrocketed in recent years.
04:40For example, Elon Musk's Starlink system alone involves more than 4,000 of them.
04:45All these satellites, along with communication and GPS satellites,
04:49could be impacted or even destroyed by a powerful solar storm.
04:54Although the chances of a powerful solar storm hitting Earth are low, it's not impossible.
05:00Back in 1859, during the Carrington event, a storm occurred near the peak of the solar cycle,
05:07causing currents to surge through telegraph lines, sparking fires and disrupting messages worldwide.
05:13Earth fell silent as telegraph communications failed.
05:16Just imagine what a solar storm could do to our vast number of satellites today.
05:21It could affect everything we rely on daily,
05:24from space-based communication and navigation to weather forecasting services.
05:28The ground-level power distribution could also be affected.
05:34You can forget about watching YouTube or Brightside,
05:37because if such an event occurred today, it would cause an internet apocalypse,
05:42sending countless people and businesses offline.
05:45There's a prediction that says that if a Carrington-class event happened today,
05:49it would result in damages ranging from $0.6 to $2.6 trillion.
05:54And I'm talking about the United States alone.
05:59Fortunately for us, solar storms as intense as the Carrington event happen only once every 500 years or so.
06:06Bad news for communications satellites, but great news for aurora watchers.
06:13During the Carrington event, dazzling auroras borealis lit up the sky as polar light shows stretched far beyond their usual ranges.
06:22The northern lights were spotted as far south as Cuba and Honolulu, Hawaii,
06:26while the southern lights were seen as far north as Santiago, Chile.
06:31For many people around the world, this was their first glimpse of the aurora,
06:35leaving them obsessed with the unusually bright skies.
06:39Some of them thought it was the end of the world,
06:41while others began their day early,
06:43thinking the sun had risen after hearing birds chirping and seeing the bright skies.
06:49Today, we know there's nothing strange about it,
06:52considering that the appearance of auroras at lower altitudes is one of the expected effects of the sun's magnetic pole reversal.
06:59Typically, these dazzling phenomena are found between 60 and 75 degrees latitude,
07:05but during the last magnetic pole reversal in 2013,
07:08intense auroras were observed below 50 degrees.
07:12Eyewitnesses describe these auroras as blood or deep crimson red,
07:17shining so brightly that you could read a newspaper in their light.
07:20It's important to study this phenomenon and not to fear it.
07:24The inversion of the magnetic poles on the sun is actually a great opportunity
07:28for scientists to better understand how our star works.
07:32Since many pieces are still missing in the whole dynamo situation,
07:36we're still not very good at predicting why some solar cycles are more intense than others,
07:41or when exactly a coronal mass ejection will erupt.
07:44But being able to predict that is becoming more and more necessary
07:48as we venture ourselves into space.
07:51The more people are out there beyond Earth,
07:53the more exposed they are to these strong solar storms.
07:57That's why the scientific community wants to know more precisely
07:59when a solar storm can cause damage to spacecraft and space stations.
08:04Plus, it would help meteorologists make progress in predicting weather,
08:08not only on Earth, but also in space.
08:10The whole point is to make space travel safer
08:13as the interest in crewed missions to the Moon and Mars grows every year.
08:18Another reason why it's important to learn more about the Sun's Poland version
08:21is to better understand how the mysterious interior of the Sun works.
08:26That could actually help us figure out the aspects of other stars in the Universe
08:30and maybe get closer to answering the ultimate question.
08:35Why are we here?
08:36Why are we here?
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