Global News in Canada shows that an epic solar storm may be heading our way, one so big it could knock out power grids, damage satellites, cause internet blackouts, and essentially take down our modern life as we know it. After decades of low activity, researchers say that we are entering what is expected to be an active 11-year cycle for solar storms.
And a severe event could impact the way we live our digital lives, leaving us disconnected for weeks or even months.
As Laura Casella reports for The New Reality, we are more vulnerable to these storms in Canada than in other parts of the world.
The Sun's Increasing Activity Could Possibly Heighten Risk Of "Cannibal Solar Storms."
ReplyDeleteThe Sun is continuing. After coming out of the solar minimum in December 2019 ( and beginning Solar Cycle 25), our star has been quite active over the last several months, releasing powerful flares.
Less than 2 weeks ago, a major flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) was sent towards Earth, creating days of geomagnetic storms.
Solar maximum or solar max is a regular period of greatest Sun activity during the 11-year solar cycle. During solar maximum, large numbers of sunspots appear, and the solar irradiance output grows by about 0.07%.
Solar Cycle 24 was a so-called "feeble" cycle, peaking at 114 sunspots (the average is 179). Solar Cycle 25 is now underway and expected to peak with 115 sunspots in July 2025. Visible light images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory show the Sun at solar minimum in December 2019 and the last solar maximum in April 2014.
Solar cycle 25 is the current solar cycle pattern of sunspot activity. It began in December 2019, with a smoothed minimum sunspot number of 1.8. It is expected to continue until about 2030.