A major warning has been issued by the European Space Agency (ESA) about the effects of harsh space weather — particularly solar storms. In addition to wrecking a fair bit of havoc on the surface, the agency also detailed the effect of solar storms on astronauts and satellites in orbit around Earth.
Severe space weather happens when powerful emissions of plasma (hot, charged gas) erupt from the surface of the Sun. The violent, super-energetic eruptions carry a stream of reactive, highly-charged particles that could potentially disrupt Earth's own magnetic field. While it isn't something we commonly experience, most people wouldn't ever like to experience solar storms. Widespread blackouts, electrical failure, satellite destruction and disruptions in GPS navigation — let's just say, it causes some serious damage to all things electrical.
Illustration of a future lagrange mission. Image: ESA
"One significant influence of solar activity is seen in disturbances in satellite navigation services, like Galileo, due to space weather effects on the upper atmosphere," the ESA said in a statement. "This, in turn, can affect aviation, road transport, shipping and any other activities that depend on precise positioning."
Particles from solar storms can also gravely disrupt the operations of satellites — specifically, it can fry their electronics, putting essential services like communication with Earth and navigation, at risk. Space weather can also expose astronauts to high levels of radiation.
"For satellites in orbit, the effects of space weather can be seen in the degradation of communications, performance, reliability and overall lifetime," the agency said. "In addition, increased radiation due to space weather may lead to increased health risks for astronauts, both today onboard the International Space Station in low orbit and in future on voyages to the Moon or Mars."
An illustrated range of space weather effects that we know of today. Image: ESA
Recent solar storm research by ESA has revealed more than a few interesting things about them. ESA's Cluster mission – a team of four satellites flying in a tetrahedral formation to gather the most comprehensive data yet on subtle changes in the region near the Earth – has been looking into the interaction between plasma from solar wind and Earth’s own magnetosphere for over 20 years.
Being ubiquitous, magnetic fields can be seen in any of many complex interactions in a variety of cosmic environments, including exoplanets orbiting close to their parent star, as they would be immersed in intense magnetic fields.
Earlier this week, ESA also released a new study that found our planet’s magnetic field is "singing" in response to a recent solar storm.
ESA released a recording of the frequencies generated as the solar storm collided with Earth’s magnetic field.
It was released alongside new findings published in Geophysical Research Letters this week.
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