Most powerful solar storm ever recorded ‘struck 14,000 years ago’ and could cause blackouts if it happens again
RESEARCHERS may have discovered evidence of the largest known solar storm.
Experts believe they have identified the date of a solar storm so powerful that it blew the Carrington event of 1859 out of the water.
A solar storm is a term used by astronomers to describe eruptions of electromagnetic radiation that happen in the Sun’s atmosphere.
The phenomenon occurs when accelerated charged particles (mainly electrons) collide with the plasma medium.
And while these solar flares cannot travel far enough to hurt humans here on Earth, they can cause major blackouts and other electricity-related disruptions.
Dating back around 14,000 years ago, this specific solar storm was even more powerful than the Carrington event, according to a report by Science Alert.
The Carrington Event – named after the astronomer who witnessed it, Richard Carrington – was one of the most intense geomagnetic storms in recorded history.
It occurred on September 1-2, 1859, and was so intense, it created strong auroral displays around the world.
The Carrington Event also caused sparking and fire in several telegraph systems.
Scientists found evidence of this solar storm’s existence by looking at its radiocarbon footprint, which is usually recorded on tree rings.
“Radiocarbon is constantly being produced in the upper atmosphere through a chain of reactions initiated by cosmic rays,” geologist Edouard Bard of the Collège de France and European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE) said.
“Recently, scientists have found that extreme solar events including solar flares and coronal mass ejections can also create short-term bursts of energetic particles which are preserved as huge spikes in radiocarbon production occurring over the course of just a single year.”
If a tree was growing at the time of such a solar storm, it would manifest as rings with dramatically increased levels of Carbon-14.
Researchers found these trees near the Drouzet River in the Southern French Alps.
Statistician Tim Heaton of the University of Leeds noted that should this event occur today, it 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,” he said.
“A precise understanding of our past is essential if we want to accurately predict our future and mitigate potential risks,” he added.
We still have much to learn. Each new discovery not only helps answer existing key questions but can also generate new ones.”
The new research has been published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.