NASA Says Solar Eruptions Are Increasing—Here’s How That Could Affect Us
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Although it literally makes the world go round, it’s still hard to overstate how much the sun affects our daily life. It creates day and night by moving across the sky , causes heat waves in the summer, and can make the winter months feel positively chilly in its relative absence. But these regular occurrences aren’t the only events caused by this immensely powerful celestial object. Now, NASA says we’re seeing solar eruptions that have begun increasing in frequency. Read on to see how the sun’s jump in activity could affect us here on Earth.
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Unlike the constantly changing moon, it can be hard to notice the sun behaving differently as it passes overhead. But in recent months, our solar system’s namesake has seen a considerable spike in activity as more frequent flares and other phenomena launch inconceivably large bursts of energy out into space, according to NASA.
The upswing in events began after the sun began Solar Cycle 25 in Dec. 2019 with what’s known as a solar minimum. The star’s natural 11-year cycles are based on highs and lows in the sun’s activity as it goes from relatively calm to more “stormy,” producing more sunspots before its magnetic poles eventually reverse, per NASA. This time, the space agency says the sun is “already exceeding predictions” with its activity, which is expected to increase until solar maximum is reached sometime in 2025.
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An active sun can put on a dazzling display as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME)—an explosion of plasma and magnetic field—shoot out from the star. However, some of these explosions can also send massive bursts of charged particles toward our planet if the timing is just right. Some of the most powerful flares create energy equivalent to a billion hydrogen bombs—or enough to power the entire world for about 20,000 years, NASA says.
Fortunately, our planet is no stranger to this type of phenomenon. Our atmosphere shields us from the intense radiation that would otherwise be highly harmful. However, you still might notice when a significant solar flare or CME happens to hit Earth—especially as they become stronger and more frequent.
“With more activity comes an increase in space weather events including solar flares and solar eruptions, which can impact radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals, as well as pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts,” NASA writes. “We have an increasing dependence on space-based technology and ground-based infrastructure that are susceptible to the dynamic nature of space.”
The agency warns that particularly strong solar flares and CMEs could disrupt the Earth’s electrically charged upper atmosphere known as the ionosphere, causing issues for everyday items such as radios and GPS navigation. While many disruptions are shortlived, blackouts can carry on for hours in the worst cases, creating problems for emergency response teams who rely on radios to communicate during natural disasters.
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Ironically, a hyperactive sun could also send the planet into darkness. A sudden burst of highly charged particles can create electrical currents in the ionosphere, causing interference with electrical particles on the ground that could flood power grids, according to Insider. While the interference could be temporary, the overload could also damage transformers and cause them to explode.
An event of this magnitude would make any repairs to bring back power “a matter of weeks or even months,” Mathew Owens , a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, told Insider. “Then you lose refrigeration, you lose power to hospitals—things get quite serious quite rapidly,” he warned.
The Earth has experienced such interference in the past, including an intense solar storm in 1859 that took out telegraph lines worldwide, Insider reports. And more recently, interference from a solar storm knocked out power grids across Quebec, Canada, in 1989 that cut electricity for nine hours.
Communications disruptions could also have an impact on your travel plans. Owens also told Insider that “space weather can ground flights” when radio and satellite instruments become inoperable. And in a recent study, data showed that an increase in solar activity coincided with a 21 percent increased likelihood of flight delays of at least 30 minutes over the last 22 years.
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But while it may sound like imminent danger is headed our way thanks to the solar activity spike, some experts are still optimistic that the risk of any kind of major catastrophe remains quite low. Scientists from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Forecast Office currently use observational data to give power companies the heads up that interference could be coming, Scientific American reported. This type of preparation allows them to decrease power output or bring backup equipment online to prevent problems.
The regularity of the sun’s activity cycle also shows us that more flares and CMEs don’t always coincide with chaos. “At this point, I do not need to convince you that we are not facing the apocalypse,” Erika Palmerio , a heliophysicist at solar research company Predictive Science, told Scientific American during an interview last January. “At every solar cycle, it’s as if we forgot what happened in the previous one. In [the cycle that stretched from 1996 to 2008], we saw really strong events. And I’m pretty sure that most people didn’t even know those events happened.”
“We have to monitor, and we have to be prepared. But we do not have to lose sleep over this,” she added.
If anything, the worst catastrophes will likely come from much closer to home. “As a person who works with this every day, I am way more scared of a ‘doomsday’ derived from terrestrial weather like forest fires, hurricanes, and extreme weather,” Palmerio points out.
The Next Total Solar Eclipse Will Be the Last Until 2044, NASA Says
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Whether you’re a casual stargazer or a devoted amateur astronomer, there’s no denying that there’s something special about witnessing a rare celestial event like a solar eclipse. Besides the fact that they only occur a few times each decade, getting a good view can come down to where you live having the right weather conditions. If you’d love to witness a solar eclipse anytime soon, you may want to mark off your calendars. NASA says the next one will be the last you can see from the U.S. until 2044. Read on for more info on how to catch this unique event.
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If catching a major cosmic event has been an item on your bucket list, you might want to grab your calendar . On Apr. 8, 2024, North America will have front-row seats to a total solar eclipse for the first time since 2017. But besides being a relatively rare event in and of itself, this will also be the last opportunity to view a full eclipse from within the contiguous United States until Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.
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Even though many areas across the U.S. will be treated to at least a partial eclipse, only places that are in the total eclipse’s direct path will get to experience the moon entirely blocking out the sun . The first sight of totality on the continent will start on Mexico’s Pacific Coast before it becomes visible stateside around noon in Texas, according to NASA. From there, the path will continue north through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before leaving the U.S. in the late afternoon.
Viewers in Canada will be able to experience the eclipse as it begins its path through Southern Ontario and eventually makes its way through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton. The eclipse will disappear from North America as it passes off the East Coast of Canada in the early evening.
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So long as weather conditions remain favorable, part of what makes the experience of a total solar eclipse so special is the truly unique conditions it can create for those in its path. During the initial partial eclipse phase—or for those watching in areas outside of the total eclipse’s path—viewers will first notice a crescent blocking out part of the sun as the moon slightly covers the star while wearing the appropriate safety glasses, according to NASA.
For a few fleeting moments before the sun is covered, spectators might also be able to catch sight of Baily’s Beads, which are glimmers of light that form bright spots as sunlight passes through crags, craters, and valleys on the moon. A sharp, bright spot on the edge of the moon’s shadow known as the “diamond ring” will then appear, named for its resemblance to a sparkling piece of jewelry.
The moment the sun is completely blocked out is known as “totality,” marking the only point of the experience you can watch directly without protective glasses. Spectators might be able to make out different parts of the sun’s atmosphere, including a pink ring created by the star’s chromosphere or rays of white light from the corona. But while the view above is spectacular, sights on the ground can be just as surreal as conditions can create “a 360-degree sunset,” planets and bright stars can become briefly visible, the air temperature can drop, and “often an eerie silence will settle around you,” NASA describes.
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If you’re already excited to catch a glimpse of the rare celestial event for the last time until 2044, it might not be a bad idea to start preparing for the experience. Arguably most importantly, NASA warns you’ll need the correct specially designed safe solar viewing glasses or handheld viewer to actually be able to see it . Otherwise, you’ll need to use an indirect viewing technique, such as a pinhole projector.
“Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing,” the space agency warns, clarifying that normal sunglasses won’t offer sufficient protection. “Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.”
And besides ensuring you have the proper equipment, you might also want to consider arranging a place to stay if you have to travel to witness the event. Cities along the path of totality will likely see a large influx of tourists scooping up available lodging, with Ross saying organizers expect anywhere between 375,000 to 500,000 people to descend upon Rochester alone.
“We’ve been starting to spread the word really since 2019 by meeting and also kind of designating everyone as an eclipse ambassador, so everyone watching right now, get ready because all of your out-of-town relatives are coming here [and] they’re gonna want to stay in your house,” Ross told WROC.
