Space
Solar “superflare” could hit Earth within the next 100 years, researchers suggest
(Planet-Today) A study published in the Astrophysical Journal suggests that the sun can unleash a massive burst of energy called a “superflare” within this century. Such an event can knock down the power grid and satellites, pushing society to the brink of collapse.
(Article by Virgilio Marin republished from NaturalNews.com)
“Our study shows that superflares are rare events,” said Yuta Notsu, an astronomer currently performing research at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) and the lead researcher of the study. “But there is some possibility that we could experience such an event in the next 100 years or so.”
The sun is not as tranquil as previously thought
Superflares are high-powered versions of solar flares, which are sudden bursts of solar energy that cause stars to appear brighter than usual. They can be seen from hundreds of light-years away and are thought to occur mostly on young and highly active stars.
The first evidence of superflares came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration‘s Kepler Space Telescope, which was launched in 2009 to search for planets several light-years away. Data from Kepler showed that the light from distant stars seemed to get suddenly and momentarily brighter. This suggested the existence of solar flares that are hundreds to thousands more powerful than the brightest ones ever recorded using modern instruments on Earth.
Before the CU study, scientists were unsure whether the sun could produce superflares, though some were convinced that the sun is too old to be able to pump out that much energy.
“When our sun was young, it was very active because it rotated very fast and probably generated more powerful flares,” Notsu said. “But we didn’t know if such large flares occur on the modern sun with very low frequency.”
To that end, Notsu and his colleagues searched for superflares generated by sun-like stars using data from the European Space Agency‘s Gaia spacecraft and the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. After analyzing those events, the researchers confirmed that younger stars tend to produce the most superflares, discharging enormous whips of energy once every week or so.
But older stars like the sun, which is currently aged around 4.6 billion years, can also generate superflares once every 1,000 years on average. (Related: Scientists warn of MASSIVE solar storms: “We need to be better prepared”.)
Earth’s magnetic field can blunt the effects of solar flares, but high-powered versions can be disastrous since coronal mass ejections – fast-moving streams of charged particles that typically accompany solar flares – can barrel toward Earth and knockout satellites, power grids and other electronics.
“If a superflare occurred 1,000 years ago, it was probably no big problem. People may have seen a large aurora,” Notsu said. “Now, it’s a much bigger problem because of our electronics.”
Past solar storms caused widespread auroras, downed communication lines
Powerful solar storms hit Earth multiple times before, bringing down communication lines and causing widespread auroras – the polar lights – that reach near the equator. A recent study in the preprint server arXiv shows that an intense solar storm in 1582 illuminated the skies over Portugal for three consecutive nights.
Researchers compiled old eyewitness accounts by observers in Lisbon. According to one of the texts, the night sky looked like it was burning in flames, which no one in the area had ever seen before. The text’s author had the same observation at the same time the next day, though it was less intense.
Sightings of auroras were not unheard of at the time because the polar lights commonly occur at the planet’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes. But witnessing auroras in near-equatorial regions such as Portugal was extremely rare.
In 1859, the worst known solar storm to hit Earth caused auroras that were seen as far as Hawaii and Cuba. Known as the “Carrington Event,” this solar storm also knocked down telegraph wires in the U.S. and Europe, triggering widespread fires. Reports showed that if a solar storm this severe occurred today, it could cause up to $2 trillion in initial damages by crippling communications and fueling chaos – a scenario that would take society up to 10 years to recover.
Learn more about the impact of a powerful solar storm at Disaster.news.
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According to NASA, a rogue, hyper-speed object, which is over
27,306 times the size of Earth, is hurtling so fast through our galaxy
that it might break free of the Milky Way.
Scientists say they have determined that the mysterious object was
cruising at a breakneck one million miles per hour when they spotted it
more than 400 light years from Earth. One light-year is equal to six
trillion miles.
Could this latest find be connected to the fake alien invasion that has long been in the pipeline?
The Mail Online reorts: While experts have not determined what the newfound celestial body is, they speculated it is a ‘brown dwarf,’ a star which is larger than a planet but lacks the mass to sustain long-term nuclear fusion in its core like Earth’s sun.
If the object confirmed as a brown dwarf, it would be first-ever to
be documented in a chaotic, hyper-speed orbit capable of breaking free
from our home galaxy.
A coalition of citizen-scientists with NASA’s ‘Backyard Worlds: Planet 9’ projectwere the first to spot the celestial body, the US space agency confirmed this week.
‘I can’t describe the level of excitement,’ German citizen-scientist Martin Kabatnik, a long-time member of NASA’s Backyard Worlds program, said in statement.
‘When I first saw how fast it was moving,’ the Nuremberg-based
researcher confessed, ‘I was convinced it must have been reported
already.’
Backyard Worlds citizen-scientists Martin Kabatnik, Thomas P. Bickle
and Dan Caselden were the first to spot this million mph object a few
years ago, earning the hyper-speed object the catalogued name CWISE
J124909.08+362116.0.
According to astronomer Dr Kyle Kremer,
who has collaborated with them on better understanding the object,
several astrophysics theories could explain how the object, CWISE J1249
for short, could have gotten to its incredible speed.
In one theory, CWISE J1249 rocketed out of a two star or binary star
system after its ‘white dwarf’ sister star died off — collapsing in an
explosive runaway nuclear fusion reaction called a supernova.
Another viable theory has it that CWISE J1249 originated inside a
tight cluster of starts called a ‘globular cluster’ where it was flung
free via the pull of a black hole.
‘When a star encounters a black hole binary,’ Dr Kremer said in a
NASA statement on the discovery, ‘the complex dynamics of this
three-body interaction can toss that star right out of the globular
cluster.’
Sławosz Uznański will be the second Pole in space and the first to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).
Uznański revealed that his mission to the ISS is planned for 2025 and will last about two weeks. He will launch from Cape Canaveral on a rocket provided by SpaceX. This journey not only represents a significant milestone for Uznański but also for Polish space exploration.
Last year, Uznański was officially selected for this mission, after which he commenced his training at the European Space Agency’s facility in Cologne, Germany. Initially planned for 2024, the mission faced delays, but new details have recently emerged on Uznański’s social media profiles.
During his two-week stay on the ISS, he will focus on Polish scientific projects and technology tests, including artificial intelligence applications in space and studies on the effects of microgravity on the human immune system.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) received numerous project proposals for Uznański’s mission. Due to limited space, only seven were selected, highlighting the extensive interest and potential impact of this mission.
Uznański will travel to the ISS in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, a vehicle regularly used by NASA for transporting astronauts. The Crew Dragon will be mounted atop a Falcon 9 rocket, with the launch also set to take place at Cape Canaveral. While the exact launch date is yet to be confirmed, preparations are in full swing.
In a move to further his training, Uznański has relocated to Houston, Texas. Starting Monday, he will begin a new training phase at Axiom Space, a partner in the mission, followed by sessions at NASA and SpaceX facilities. This mission not only propels Uznański into space but also significantly advances Poland’s stature in the global aerospace sector.
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