[imagesource:flickr]

On the back of a recent solar storm warning issued a few weeks ago, scientists studying samples from the Greenland ice cores, have found evidence of a truly colossal solar blast that smashed into the earth some 14,300 years ago.

Known as a ‘Miyake Event’, this storm would have hit when sabre-toothed cats still roamed Table Mountain, and our atmosphere was blasted with so much solar radiation that the radiocarbon can still be found in Earth’s tree rings.

The research was published in the science journal The Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, and is a startling warning for our techno-future.

“Extreme solar storms could have huge impacts on Earth. Such super storms could permanently damage the transformers in our electricity grids, resulting in huge and widespread blackouts lasting months,” Tim Heaton, a professor of Applied Statistics in the School of Mathematics at the University of Leeds who worked on the research, said in a statement.

An international team of scientists have identified the largest ever solar storm, which took place 14,300 years ago ☀️

A spike in radiocarbon levels in ancient tree rings pointed to the event and raises questions about the risks of future solar storms 👇https://t.co/Jqy4KTF7Pz

— University of Leeds (@UniversityLeeds) October 9, 2023

For instance, and although it wasn’t the same kind of solar storm, Earth was affected by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun in 1989. Extreme outcomes knocked down electricity for millions of Canadians in Québec.

According to NASA astronomer Sten Odenwald, “when the CME struck the Earth’s magnetic field on March 12 of that year, the currents found a weakness in the electrical power grid of Québec just after 2:44 a.m. on March 13. The whole electrical grid in Quebec lost power in less than two minutes.”

Millions of people unexpectedly found themselves in dark office buildings, underground pedestrian tunnels, and stopped elevators during the subsequent 12-hour blackout.

On June 20, 2023, @NOAA‘s Solar Ultraviolet Imager (#SUVI) instrument onboard the #GOESEast satellite captured an X1.1 flare erupting from the sun. Solar flares are classified according to their strength, and X-class flares are the strongest. These can cause temporary degradation… pic.twitter.com/seMVJfO1Tu

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) June 27, 2023

This event pales in comparison to the effects of a ‘Miyake Event’.

Nine Miyake Events, including ones that occurred in 993 AD and 774 AD, have so far been identified by scientists thanks to evidence found in tree rings and ice cores. This newly identified 14,300-year-old storm is, however, the largest that has ever been found – roughly twice the size of the two mentioned above.

The ‘Carrington Event’ is the most powerful solar storm that Earth has ever directly witnessed, taking place in 1859. A barrage of powerful CMEs that struck Earth ignited several telegraph offices, disabled the “Victorian Internet,” and caused worldwide telegraph cables to burst into flames.

An “order-of-magnitude greater in size,” according to the researchers, would make a Miyake-type event much, much stronger and potentially more harmful. That translates to around ten times more potent. In other words, kiss your iPhone goodbye and hope it’s not in your pocket when it hits.

Fortunately for us, NASA and its affiliated space-gazing nerds are on the case and thanks to projects like the Parker Solar Probe, solar storms are somewhat predictable today. We should have ample warning if another mother of a storm threatens our smart TVs, so don’t fret too much.

[source:mashable]