A solar superstorm might potentially result in a significant internet outage over the next ten years, according to several researchers.
An "internet apocalypse" might be brought on by a potential solar superstorm, according to a June article by The Weather Channel. NASA's probe may hold the key to avoiding this from happening. In addition, the government agency recently unveiled a new technology that teaches artificial intelligence to assist in forecasting such catastrophic events.
According to a 2021 study by computer science specialist Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi at the University of California, Irvine, there is a 1.6 percent to 12 percent possibility that such a months-long "catastrophic" internet interruption will take out during the next ten years. According to Jyothi's report, such a widespread blackout could potentially cost the American economy $7 billion every day. However, according to NASA specialists, the Parker Solar Probe has found some important new hints that will help them better understand the causes of solar winds and prepare for them. Solar winds are extremely fast particles that have the potential to disrupt Earth's satellites, radio communications, internet, and electrical grids.
NASA claims that Parker, which was launched in 2018, was the first spacecraft to "touch the sun" and travel into the corona, the sun's upper atmosphere. The objective was to aid researchers in understanding how solar winds, which may travel at supersonic speeds, affect the wider space weather system. James Drake, a physics professor at the University of Maryland, told Forbes' Jamie Carter in 2021 that "understanding the mechanism behind the sun's wind is important for practical reasons on Earth." That will have an impact on our capacity to comprehend how the sun releases energy and creates geomagnetic storms, which pose a risk to our communication systems.
Since the deployment of Parker, scientists have discovered that solar winds, which are composed of streams of charged particles, are fed by jets of energy known as jetlets that erupt from the corona. According to physicist Craig DeForest in the NASA report, "This shifts the paradigm for how we think about some aspects of the solar wind." Future scientific discoveries may result from this study and additional data gathered by Parker. DeForest continued, "We're not done with the riddle yet, but this is a huge step forward for addressing a key conundrum in solar physics.
The 11-year solar cycle must be taken into account in addition to the usual flare-ups. Electromagnetic activity on the sun peaks at the cycle's "maximum," which is anticipated to arrive in 2025, increasing the potential of disruption to life on Earth. NASA recently developed a new computer model that forecasts extreme events using artificial intelligence to assist analyze the threat. According to experts, new technology can forecast 30 minutes in advance where a solar storm will strike Earth. It can be used by authorities to defend their systems by taking them offline or ordering brief shutdowns if it is embraced by power grid operators and telecommunications corporations around the world. According to NASA's website, "This could give just enough time to prepare for these storms and avoid severe impacts on power grids and other critical infrastructure."