(Telegraph) - National power grids could overheat and air travel severely disrupted while electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites could stop working after the Sun reaches its maximum power in a few years.
Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like “a bolt of lightning” and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world’s health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.
Scientists believe it could damage everything from emergency services’ systems, hospital equipment, banking systems and air traffic control devices, through to “everyday” items such as home computers, iPods and Sat Navs.
Due to humans’ heavy reliance on electronic devices, which are sensitive to magnetic energy, the storm could leave a multi-billion pound damage bill and “potentially devastating” problems for governments.
“We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be,” Dr Richard Fisher, the director of Nasa's Heliophysics division, said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph....
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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Solar storms like this happen once a generation. These storms are harmless to biological life on earth, thanks to the protective magnetic field surrounding the planet, but never before has the Western world been so heavily dependent on electricity and electronic devices. Earth's magnetic field cannot protect our electricity supply nor our electronic toys. As a result they are highly vulnerable to plasma discharges from the sun reacting with our atmosphere. That being said, the developed world will likely suffer the most during solar storms, while the third world is not likely to even notice them.
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