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NASA has sounded the alarm: a massive solar storm could be heading straight for Earth. The surge of solar energy racing through space has experts on high alert. If it strikes, the event could disrupt technology worldwide and illuminate skies with dazzling auroras.
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00:00A solar storm is crashing into Earth like a cosmic tsunami.
00:05First, the atmosphere ignites, sparking massive auroras.
00:09High-energy radiation slams into the surface, frying power grids,
00:13turning lights off across continents, and knocking out satellites.
00:18Planes lose navigation.
00:20Radios go silent.
00:22GPS systems crash.
00:24Radiation levels spike dangerously.
00:27Communication collapses, emergency services scramble in the darkness,
00:31and chaos spreads as people struggle to cope.
00:34Solar particles start to strip away the very air we breathe,
00:37slowly peeling off our atmosphere.
00:40Soon, Earth will become a harsh and hostile place.
00:43That's what solar activity can do to our planet and its inhabitants
00:47if we didn't have a protective shield called the magnetosphere.
00:52But even with this barrier, we're still in for serious problems.
00:58A mysterious 100-year solar cycle may have just restarted,
01:03and it could mean decades of dangerous space weather.
01:06New research suggests that the unexpected intensity of the ongoing solar maximum
01:11may be partly tied to a lesser-known 100-year solar cycle.
01:16If the sun is indeed entering its villain arc,
01:20solar activity could spike even further in the coming decades.
01:23It means more solar flares, more chances of them messing with satellites,
01:28and way more of those crazy northern lights people keep posting on Instagram.
01:33Sure, not everyone's buying it.
01:35Some space nerds want more proof before jumping on this solar hype train.
01:40Let's break it all down into detail first.
01:44The sun goes through a kind of mood swing every 11 years.
01:48This is called the solar cycle.
01:50It starts off at a solar minimum, which is pretty chill,
01:54then slowly gets rowdy.
01:56We're talking sunspots, solar flares, and other fiery drama.
02:01Once we reach solar maximum, the situation starts to calm down again.
02:06The sun gets sunspots, dark patches on its surface,
02:10like the freckles we humans have,
02:12when its magnetic field starts flipping out.
02:15Literally.
02:16The sun's magnetic field completely flips during peak solar drama.
02:20Scientists track how many of these spots show up
02:23to measure how spicy the sun is getting.
02:26But wait, plot twist, there are other cycles too,
02:29like the hail cycle, which occurs around every 22 years.
02:33This cycle controls how magnetic fields move across the sun.
02:38Plus, way back in history,
02:40there were moments when the sun basically went on do-not-disturb mode.
02:44During the maunder minimum,
02:46our star was basically in sleep mode for 70 years.
02:50In other words, the sun might be entering a new extra phase,
02:55and things could get dramatic.
02:57On the bright side, that means more auroras.
03:00At the same time, it could also cause issues for satellites,
03:04GPS, and other stuff we rely on.
03:07Ugh, let's just hope it doesn't mess with YouTube.
03:11This extra phase is called the Centennial-Gleisberg Cycle.
03:15It's basically the sun's
03:17once-every-100-years-I-do-something-weird moment.
03:21Scientists think it messes with how intense sunspot cycles get.
03:25No one has fully worked out how this cycle works yet,
03:29but some low-key sloshing of magnetic fields inside the sun might be causing it.
03:34Yep, I did say sloshing.
03:36Like a giant cosmic smoothie.
03:39A recent study from March 2025 claims that the CGC might have just hit restart.
03:46That could explain why this current solar maximum,
03:49the sun's drama phase that started in early 2024,
03:53is being so weird and unpredictable.
03:55How did researchers figure this out?
03:58They looked at something called proton flux.
04:01Basically, it's how many positively charged particles
04:04are flying around in Earth's radiation belt.
04:06There are two of these belts,
04:09shaped like donuts that wrap around Earth,
04:11full of particles from the sun.
04:13The thing is, when the sun is active,
04:16our upper atmosphere swells,
04:18which makes the inner radiation belt lose some of those protons.
04:21And when the sun is chill,
04:23proton numbers go up again.
04:25So those protons have been increasing for like 20 years,
04:29but just started to drop in the past year.
04:32Which basically screams,
04:34CGC has just hit minimum.
04:36Time for the sun to crank it back up.
04:40The data came from NOAA satellites
04:43that flew through the South Atlantic anomaly,
04:45which is like the Bermuda Triangle of space.
04:48It's this bizarre zone over South America,
04:51where Earth's magnetic field is weaker,
04:53and space radiation gets closer to Earth.
04:56This area is perfect for observing proton activity
05:00without sending a satellite into the actual danger zone.
05:04So, right now,
05:06we're probably nearing the end of the sun's current chaos phase,
05:10aka the peak of Solar Cycle 25.
05:14Back in May 2024,
05:16it hit us with one of the craziest geomagnetic storms in 500 years or so.
05:20And yes,
05:21that means super bright auroras lighting up skies all over the world,
05:26even in places that usually only get clouds and vibes.
05:29But the scariest thing?
05:31This wasn't supposed to happen.
05:34During the last cycle,
05:35the sun was oddly calm.
05:37So NASA and NOAA looked at that
05:40and thought that the next solar cycle would probably be the same.
05:44No biggie.
05:45Well,
05:45they were wrong.
05:46And they even admitted it.
05:49Now,
05:50scientists think that SC24's quiet phase
05:53was because of the Centennial-Gleisberg cycle being at its low point.
05:57That probably made it the quietest sunspot cycle in 100 years.
06:01So now that SC25 is lit again,
06:05pretty literally,
06:06it might just mean the sun is back to doing what it normally does,
06:10being a little chaotic and wild.
06:13Recent studies think the CGC minimum is finally over.
06:17That would explain why the current solar activity is turning up the heat
06:21and why the last one felt like a cosmic snooze.
06:26An even cooler thing is that a 2024 study
06:29used AI to analyze sunspot patterns
06:32and found that CGC might be messing with our forecasts
06:35more than we thought.
06:37And if this long-term mood swing of our star is really back on the rise,
06:42future solar cycles could be just as wild as the one we're in now,
06:46or even wilder.
06:48After all,
06:49we've just passed the CGC's low-energy mode
06:51and we won't hit the next maximum for another 40 to 50 years,
06:56around solar cycle 28.
06:58That's a few decades away,
06:59but the sun's already throwing tantrums.
07:02The scariest part is that future solar activity
07:05might be twice as intense as what we're seeing now.
07:08You might be wondering right now,
07:10why should I care?
07:12Well, because when the sun freaks out,
07:14it messes with our stuff,
07:15especially in space.
07:18Satellites get dragged out of orbit
07:19because Earth's upper atmosphere
07:21literally puffs up like a marshmallow in a microwave
07:24when solar activity spikes.
07:27And this has already happened to a few spacecraft recently.
07:30And with tons of private satellite mega constellations
07:33like Starlink and its squad,
07:35the risk goes way up.
07:37There are some,
07:38even though those are few,
07:40that might not be ready
07:41for a full-blown sunrage event.
07:44Time to wear SPF 100 for your satellites.
07:50Astronauts are also at risk.
07:51More solar flares mean more radiation
07:53and more danger for humans in orbit.
07:56At the same time,
07:57more space tourists and missions
07:59mean more people potentially
08:01in the sun's cosmic splash zone.
08:03At the same time,
08:05not everyone is buying into the whole
08:07CGC is back and ready to party theory.
08:10Some experts say it's a cool theory,
08:12but we shouldn't get carried away.
08:13The thing is,
08:14the proton flux,
08:15those space particles we've been watching,
08:18only started dropping last year.
08:20That's not a lot of time.
08:21It might just be a short-term dip,
08:24like the sun sneezed
08:25and now everyone's freaking out.
08:27Also,
08:28we've only been able to track this stuff properly
08:30for 30 to 40 years or so,
08:32which is basically nothing in sun time.
08:35So there's no solid before and after data
08:38to compare CGC cycles and say,
08:40yep, this is definitely a pattern.
08:43Plus, the CGC itself is kind of mysterious.
08:47Like no one can fully agree on what it even is,
08:50how it works or how much it actually messes
08:53with sunspot cycles.
08:55It's like the Bigfoot of solar science,
08:58blurry, weird,
08:59and causing drama in group chats.
09:01But even skeptics admit
09:02that the new study is interesting
09:04and well-intentioned,
09:06and that it might help us predict
09:07future solar cycles better.
09:09We just need more time,
09:11more data,
09:12and better definition of the CGC
09:14before we treat it like
09:16the ultimate weather app for the sun.
09:20A large space probe is nearing the sun.
09:23The terrifying heat of the star
09:25begins to melt the shell of the spacecraft.
09:28Another moment,
09:29and the probe bursts into flames.
09:31In no time,
09:32it disintegrates in a powerful explosion.
09:35Ah, what a sad ending.
09:37If it were true,
09:38it was not a probe.
09:40It was a comet known as 3I Atlas.
09:43And despite everything people say,
09:45it's still intact and thriving.
09:48The thing is,
09:49there is a rumor online
09:50saying that comet 3I Atlas
09:52exploded when it got closest to the sun.
09:55But astronomers say this is not true.
09:58There was no explosion.
10:00And the comet's nucleus
10:01still looks whole and undamaged.
10:04Which is kind of surprising,
10:05since comets that pass very close to the sun
10:08usually go through some serious changes.
10:11You see,
10:12comets are made of a mix of ice,
10:14dust, and rocky material.
10:16Which is why they're often called
10:17dirty snowballs.
10:19So,
10:20when they come close to the sun,
10:21the intense heat from our star
10:23makes their ice turn into gas.
10:25This new gas can burst out in huge jets,
10:28form a cloud around the comet
10:30called a coma,
10:31and or be pushed away into a long tail.
10:34Sunlight makes all of these parts
10:36shine more brightly.
10:38And even people with small or simple telescopes
10:40can study the comet
10:42if the viewing conditions are good.
10:43But,
10:44aside from being a breathtaking view,
10:46such a close approach
10:48can break off pieces of a comet
10:49or even tear its whole nucleus apart.
10:53Now,
10:54it's true that some comets
10:55survive this process.
10:56But many,
10:57especially small ones,
10:59or comets entering the inner solar system
11:01for the first time,
11:02break into pieces
11:03or disappear completely.
11:05Well,
11:063I Atlas acted differently.
11:09So there.
11:09It reached its closest point to the sun
11:11on October 29, 2025.
11:14This point is called the Perhelion.
11:16At that moment,
11:18the comet was about 130 million miles
11:20from the sun.
11:21That's about one and a half times
11:23the distance between the sun and our planet.
11:25The comet was also on the opposite side
11:28of the sun from Earth.
11:29So,
11:29the star was blocking it from our view,
11:31and we couldn't see the comet.
11:33Anyway,
11:34even though 3I Atlas could
11:36hypothetically break apart
11:38or release lots of fragments,
11:40it didn't.
11:41The nucleus stayed intact.
11:43And this made the comet's behavior
11:44even more unusual
11:46and interesting to scientists.
11:48They looked closely at the new photos
11:50and said everything looked normal.
11:53Now,
11:53interestingly,
11:54the day before,
11:55some people thought the comet
11:57had broken into pieces
11:58after it came out
11:59from behind the far side of the sun.
12:01This idea became popular
12:03after a blog post said
12:05the comet had lost a lot of mass.
12:07So,
12:08to make this claim,
12:09the blog used photos
12:10taken on November 9th
12:12by two small telescopes in Spain.
12:14The pictures show jets of gas
12:16coming out of the comet.
12:18The scientists used this
12:19to estimate how much material
12:21was coming off the comet,
12:23claiming that it should have
12:24broken into at least 16 pieces.
12:26However,
12:27many scientists have questioned
12:29this statement.
12:30Most researchers say
12:31there's no proof
12:32that the comet exploded.
12:34One scientist who studies the comet
12:36says that all the images
12:37he had seen
12:38showed a completely normal,
12:40healthy comet.
12:41There's no sign
12:42that the main body
12:43of the comet
12:43has broken apart.
12:45Still,
12:46now that the comet
12:47is coming back into view,
12:49astronomers are watching it
12:50very carefully.
12:51They want to learn more
12:52about the comet's materials
12:54and structure.
12:55Right now,
12:56if you look at it from Earth,
12:57the comet seems to be
12:59slowly moving higher
13:00in the eastern sky.
13:01If the weather is good,
13:03people in many parts
13:04of the northern hemisphere
13:05can see it
13:06with a small telescope,
13:07like this one
13:08with a 6-inch lens.
13:10And many do
13:11pay attention to the comet.
13:12Since it was discovered in July,
13:14it has become the center
13:16of many curious ideas.
13:18Some people are sure
13:19that the comet,
13:20which comes from
13:21outside our solar system
13:22and might be
13:23more than 7 billion years old,
13:25could be a probe
13:26sent by a different civilization.
13:28Now,
13:29most astronomers
13:30strongly disagree,
13:31of course.
13:32They believe the comet
13:33is completely natural
13:34and comes from
13:35another star system
13:36somewhere in the Milky Way.
13:38And this
13:39is actually exciting.
13:41Comet 3I Atlas
13:42is only the third
13:43interstellar comet
13:44ever seen,
13:45and it is the largest
13:47one of its kind.
13:48Before,
13:49it was comet 2I Borisov
13:51that passed through
13:52in 2019,
13:53and Oumuamua,
13:55a weird and long-aided object
13:56that appeared in 2017.
13:58But 3I Atlas,
14:00with its up to
14:013.5-mile nucleus,
14:03dwarfs Oumuamua,
14:04which was just
14:05a quarter-mile long,
14:07and Borisov,
14:08which is about
14:08three-tenths of a mile across.
14:11Plus,
14:123I Atlas may be
14:13the oldest comet
14:14humans have ever observed.
14:16Oumuamua is much younger,
14:18around 1 billion years old.
14:20It came from
14:20the galaxy's thin disk,
14:22where new stars
14:23are still being born.
14:24It was the first known object
14:26from another star system
14:28to pass through
14:28our solar system.
14:29Basically,
14:30our first interstellar guest.
14:32It was super-stretched out,
14:34about ten times longer
14:35than it was wide,
14:37unlike anything else
14:38we've spotted in space.
14:40As for 2I Borisov,
14:42it sits in between,
14:43at roughly
14:441.7 billion years old.
14:46It also came from
14:47the thin disk.
14:48It was the first
14:49confirmed comet
14:50to come from
14:51another star system.
14:52And it gave scientists
14:53a super-rare peek
14:54at what materials
14:56beyond our solar system
14:57were made of.
14:58Unlike the first
14:59interstellar visitor,
15:00Oumuamua,
15:01which looked more
15:02like an asteroid,
15:03Borisov behaved
15:04like a classic comet.
15:06It had a bright coma,
15:08a temporary fuzzy atmosphere
15:09of gas and dust
15:10forming around
15:11the comet's nucleus
15:12as it approaches the sun.
15:14Plus,
15:15it also had a long tail
15:17of dust and gas.
15:19Now,
15:192I Borisov
15:20is speeding away
15:21from the sun
15:21and will never return.
15:23But it allowed scientists
15:25to take a glimpse
15:26into the chemistry
15:27and history
15:27of distant worlds.
15:29Now,
15:30let's get back
15:31to comet 3I Atlas.
15:32It will pass
15:33closest to Earth
15:34on December 19th.
15:36Until then,
15:37scientists will make
15:37many more observations.
15:39People will also
15:40make many new claims
15:41about the comet,
15:42that's for sure.
15:43But it's best
15:44to be cautious
15:45and not believe
15:46everything immediately.
15:47By the way,
15:48even though you can't
15:49see this famous comet
15:50with your own eyes
15:51or with a regular telescope,
15:53hey,
15:54that's good news.
15:55A powerful telescope
15:56in Italy
15:56is streaming it live
15:58for free.
15:59Whoa.
16:00So anyone can actually
16:01watch this mysterious object
16:03as it passes by.
16:05Scientists think
16:05this comet weighs
16:06about 33 billion tons.
16:09That's a big number.
16:10How about we make
16:11a few comparisons?
16:12The Eiffel Tower
16:13weighs around 10,000 tons.
16:15So 33 billion tons
16:17is the same
16:19as 3.3 million Eiffel Towers.
16:22And if you decide
16:23to compare
16:24the space visitor
16:25to buildings,
16:26well,
16:2633 billion tons
16:27is about the same
16:28as the weight
16:29of several huge city areas
16:30made entirely
16:31of steel and concrete.
16:34Now,
16:343I Atlas
16:35was first noticed
16:36in July
16:36by NASA's
16:38Asteroid Terrestrial Impact
16:40Last Alert System,
16:41which,
16:42if you're paying attention,
16:43is where they got
16:44the nickname Atlas.
16:46Shortly after,
16:47NASA confirmed
16:48that the object
16:48wasn't from our solar system
16:50at all.
16:51Now,
16:51besides being huge,
16:523I Atlas
16:53is unusual
16:54in several other ways.
16:55As it moves
16:56through the solar system,
16:58it's releasing
16:58massive amounts
16:59of carbon dioxide
17:00and dust.
17:01So,
17:02this suggests
17:02that 3I Atlas
17:04is 3 to 5 orders
17:05of magnitude,
17:07which means
17:071,000 to 100,000 times
17:10more massive
17:11than the two other
17:12known interstellar visitors.
17:13Such an enormous difference
17:15is a real scientific mystery.
17:17It's also traveling
17:18incredibly fast,
17:20about 150,000 miles per hour,
17:23which is almost
17:23200 times
17:24the speed of sound.
17:26Hey,
17:26that will get you
17:27a speeding ticket.
17:28And unlike objects
17:29in our solar system,
17:31which follow curved paths
17:32because of gravity,
17:343I Atlas
17:34is moving
17:35on a nearly straight line.
17:37That alone
17:37makes it stand out.
17:39Now that the comet
17:40has moved past the sun,
17:42telescopes on Earth
17:43can see it again.
17:44Comet 3I Atlas
17:46is important to us
17:47because it's only
17:48the third interstellar visitor
17:50we've ever seen,
17:51and it may be
17:52the biggest
17:52and oldest one yet.
17:54And it didn't break apart
17:55near the sun
17:56like some other comets.
17:57By studying it,
17:59scientists can learn
18:00what materials exist
18:01in other star systems
18:02and better understand
18:04how comets,
18:04and even planets,
18:06form in our galaxy.
18:11In September 1859,
18:13scientists observed
18:15the first confirmed
18:16powerful solar flare.
18:18The sun threw
18:19a large amount
18:20of radiation,
18:21energy,
18:21and plasma material
18:22into space.
18:23This was a massive
18:24and devastating disaster,
18:26but it happened
18:2793 million miles away,
18:29so it probably
18:30wasn't such a big problem,
18:31right?
18:32Well,
18:32actually it was.
18:34A few hours
18:36after the flare
18:36was spotted,
18:37telegraph lines
18:38stopped working
18:39all over Europe
18:40and North America.
18:41Some of them sparked
18:42and caused fires.
18:44People realized
18:45that the sun
18:46was not only
18:47the source of light
18:48and warmth,
18:49but also danger.
18:50Scientists called that day
18:52the Carrington effect.
18:54The good news
18:55is that this happened
18:56in the middle
18:56of the 19th century
18:57and didn't cause
18:58serious problems
18:59for the planet.
19:00The bad news
19:01is that scientists
19:02are warning
19:03that in 2025,
19:04Earth will experience
19:05even more powerful
19:07solar storms
19:08caused by a
19:09coronal mass ejection.
19:10This is a giant
19:12cloud of plasma
19:13or charged gas.
19:14At one time,
19:15the sun can throw
19:16billions of tons
19:17of this material
19:18into space.
19:19Then,
19:19all this flies
19:20at high speed
19:21through space.
19:22Some of the material
19:23can reach our planet
19:24in 15 hours,
19:26the rest
19:26in a few days.
19:28During the journey,
19:29it captures
19:29and accelerates
19:30any charged particles
19:31encountered along the way.
19:33which increases
19:34its intensity
19:35and power.
19:35And then,
19:36this unstoppable
19:37array of energy
19:38crashes into
19:39our planet.
19:41It heats
19:41the upper layers
19:42of the atmosphere,
19:43increases its thickness,
19:45and disturbs
19:46the work of satellites.
19:47They slow down
19:48and lose altitude.
19:49Communication with satellites
19:51becomes unstable.
19:52GPS is buggy.
19:54Data is poorly transmitted.
19:56Also,
19:56solar-charged gas
19:58penetrates
19:58into our power grids,
20:00transformer booths,
20:01and stations.
20:01It leads to massive failures
20:03that ruin the work
20:04of the entire
20:05technological chain.
20:07A powerful solar attack
20:08on several power plants
20:10can trigger a power outage
20:12in a large city.
20:13The internet,
20:14phones,
20:14social services,
20:15networks,
20:16nothing will work.
20:17We may lose connection
20:18with each other.
20:19Many large companies
20:20would go bankrupt,
20:21and the planet
20:22may face economic crises.
20:24These are big problems,
20:26but not the most serious ones.
20:28Electric plants
20:29serve boiler houses
20:30and water-pumping stations.
20:32Solar storms
20:33could stop water
20:34from getting to our homes.
20:35You wouldn't be able
20:36to buy groceries
20:37in stores without cash.
20:39Of course,
20:39we can restore all this,
20:41but we'll have to live
20:42in the Iron Age
20:43for a while.
20:44But the worst thing
20:45is that a prolonged solar storm
20:47can suspend food production.
20:49For example,
20:50this year,
20:51a geomagnetic storm
20:52caused by solar storms
20:54shut down GPS satellites
20:56that are connected
20:56with modern tractors,
20:58so farmers couldn't work.
21:00What would happen
21:01if such storms
21:01happened every day
21:02for a year?
21:03We would probably
21:05start missing many items
21:06in supermarkets.
21:07Besides,
21:08maritime navigation
21:09also depends on satellites.
21:11Thanks to them,
21:12ships calculate
21:13the latitude
21:14and longitude
21:14of their location.
21:16If the satellites
21:17are damaged,
21:18ships may get lost
21:19in the ocean.
21:20Even whales
21:20get lost in the ocean
21:21during magnetic storms.
21:23Many birds
21:24navigate
21:24with the help
21:25of magnetic field
21:26during long flights
21:27to the south.
21:28So,
21:29not only people,
21:30but also animals
21:31may experience
21:32serious problems.
21:33Solar storms
21:34heat the upper layers
21:35of the Earth's atmosphere
21:36and thus
21:37make the air thicker.
21:38The movement
21:39of satellites
21:40slows down
21:40because of this
21:41air resistance.
21:42They lose altitude.
21:44And one of these
21:45satellites is Hubble.
21:46Yes,
21:47the very telescope
21:48that provides us
21:49with incredible
21:49pictures of space.
21:51Scientists say
21:52that it will fail
21:53much earlier
21:54because of solar attacks.
21:55You've probably heard
21:56on the news
21:57that solar activity
21:58has recently caused
21:59electromagnetic storms
22:01on Earth.
22:02But,
22:03fortunately,
22:03it hasn't affected
22:04our lives in any way.
22:06The only problem
22:07was headaches,
22:08high pressure,
22:09and mood swings
22:10during those storms.
22:11It seems like
22:12an ordinary thing,
22:13but scientists
22:14don't have a consensus
22:15on this topic.
22:16No one has proven
22:17exactly how and why
22:19magnetic storms
22:20affect our condition.
22:22Yes,
22:22during storms,
22:23the planet's atmosphere
22:24becomes less dense,
22:26and perhaps this
22:27affects our blood pressure,
22:28like it happens
22:29when the weather changes.
22:30So,
22:31people with
22:32cardiovascular system
22:33problems
22:33should be careful.
22:34But the effect
22:35on our nervous system,
22:36fortunately,
22:37is quite insignificant.
22:38It's possible
22:40that when people
22:40hear about
22:41a coming magnetic storm
22:42and feel unwell,
22:43they experience
22:44a placebo effect.
22:46But there's also
22:47good news.
22:48All these charged
22:49solar particles
22:50interact with atoms
22:51and molecules
22:52in Earth's atmosphere.
22:53This interaction
22:54leads to beautiful
22:55northern lights.
22:56It's good to spend
22:57some time away
22:57from your gadgets
22:58and look up
22:59at the sky sometimes.
23:01One of the biggest
23:02storms occurred
23:03on March 13,
23:041989.
23:05On March 10,
23:07the sun ejected
23:08a gigantic volume
23:09of coronal plasma.
23:10The amount of that
23:11material was the size
23:12of 36 Earths.
23:14The solar cloud
23:15was flying to us
23:16at a million miles per hour.
23:18And a couple of days later,
23:20it crashed
23:21into our planet's
23:21magnetic field.
23:23The collision
23:23caused a geomagnetic
23:25superstorm.
23:26People watched
23:27some of the brightest
23:27and most beautiful
23:28auroras in history.
23:30The light show
23:31covered most of the planet.
23:32But after a beautiful
23:33performance,
23:34problems followed.
23:36The solar storm
23:37was so powerful
23:38that it went through
23:39the atmosphere
23:40and reached Earth's surface.
23:42First,
23:42it disrupted
23:43the operation
23:44of satellites
23:44and then damaged
23:45electrical networks.
23:47For example,
23:48it destroyed a transformer
23:49at a nuclear power plant
23:51in New Jersey.
23:52Energy companies
23:53in Canada went down
23:54because of systems overloading.
23:56As a result,
23:57about 6 million people
23:58in northeastern Canada
23:59lost electricity
24:01for 9 hours.
24:02This was the largest
24:03power outage
24:04caused by a geomagnetic storm.
24:06Yeah,
24:07there were more
24:07powerful storms
24:08in the mid-19th
24:09and early 20th centuries,
24:11but the planet
24:12wasn't covered
24:12by so many power grids
24:14at that time.
24:15More powerful storms
24:16may occur in 2025.
24:18The question is,
24:19will we be ready for them?
24:21A careful study
24:22of solar activity
24:23can help us prepare.
24:24If we know in advance
24:26about an upcoming storm,
24:28then scientists
24:28can switch off
24:29some systems
24:30and turn them on
24:31afterward,
24:32theoretically.
24:33If the activity
24:34of the sun
24:34increases every year,
24:36then we'll have to
24:37come up with new,
24:38innovative ways
24:38to protect ourselves.
24:40Who knows?
24:41Maybe scientists
24:41will cover all
24:42our electrical appliances
24:44and stations
24:44with a layer
24:45of special
24:46protective material.
24:47Anyway,
24:48we must do
24:49everything possible
24:50not to harm
24:51Earth's magnetic field.
24:52Because if this shield
24:53disappears,
24:54the surface of our planet
24:55will resemble
24:56that of Mars.
24:58But what causes
24:59these solar storms
25:00and why do they
25:01affect us so much?
25:02Okay,
25:03imagine a guy
25:04with a nice hairstyle
25:05who goes to bed.
25:06In the morning,
25:07his head
25:08is a complete mess.
25:09The magnetic fields
25:11of the sun
25:11are similar
25:12to this tousled air.
25:13When the sun rotates,
25:15these fields burst,
25:16get tangled,
25:17stretch,
25:18and tear.
25:19At those moments,
25:20they release
25:20huge amounts
25:21of energy
25:22into space.
25:23This is not
25:24a problem
25:24for the sun
25:25as the fields
25:26are restored
25:26during the process
25:27called magnetic
25:28reconnection.
25:29Such emissions
25:30can cause trouble
25:31for the planets
25:32in our system.
25:33When magnetic
25:34reconnection happens,
25:35several phenomena
25:37can follow.
25:38One of them
25:38you've already
25:39heard about.
25:40It's a coronal
25:41mass ejection.
25:42But there's another
25:43terrible thing
25:43that the sun does
25:44and it's called
25:45solar flare.
25:47Imagine a bright
25:48burst of solar
25:49radiation
25:49containing
25:50electromagnetic waves,
25:52x-rays,
25:53radiation,
25:54and visible
25:54and ultraviolet light.
25:56During flares,
25:57the sun releases
25:58an enormous amount
25:59of this destructive energy
26:00and it spreads
26:02through space
26:02at the speed of light.
26:03It takes 8 minutes
26:05for this explosive wave
26:06to reach our planet.
26:08Fortunately,
26:09we don't get much damage
26:10from these flares
26:11because Earth's
26:12magnetic field
26:13and atmosphere
26:13protect us.
26:15Strong flares
26:15can disrupt radio waves
26:17in the upper atmosphere
26:18and affect the operation
26:19of satellites,
26:20but it's nothing critical.
26:22Another solar phenomenon
26:24is called
26:24a radiation storm.
26:26These are
26:27accelerated electrons
26:28and protons
26:29that move at a speed
26:30slightly less
26:31than the speed of light.
26:32Thanks to Earth's
26:33magnetic field,
26:34radiation storms
26:35don't harm our planet
26:36too much,
26:37but they pose a danger
26:38to astronauts
26:39and satellites.
26:40These particles
26:41can penetrate
26:42human tissues
26:43and lead to serious
26:44health problems
26:45in the way radiation does,
26:46but only if you're in space
26:48or flying a plane
26:49in the upper atmosphere.
26:50higher.
26:51You
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