How much more powerful was the 2013 solar storm than the Carrington event?

Recently, NASA issued a very rare warning that the earth may encounter a strong solar magnetic storm, and the time point is just three years later, that is, in 2013, when the world will be plunged into a blackout. , all online electronic communications will be unavailable. If all this comes true, it means that human life will undergo a historic retrogression. The sun is waking up from its slumber. As we all know, solar storms occur every 11 years with the sunspot activity cycle, and by 2013, solar activity will reach its next peak. According to a 2008 report on space climate by the National Academy of Sciences, the most powerful solar storm will occur at that time, causing damage up to 10 times that of Hurricane Katrina. Although the chance of such a strong solar storm occurring is relatively small, scientists warn that such a strong solar storm will produce extreme weather in the sun's outer atmosphere, paralyzing the U.S. power grid, malfunctioning navigation systems, and threatening the safety of spacecraft. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences reports that if the strongest solar storm occurs, 1 million people will lose power supply, water supplies will be interrupted, and transportation, communications and banking systems will be affected. "The sun is waking up from its slumber, and in the next few years, we expect to see more solar activity. At the same time, the scientific community has never been more sensitive to solar storms." NASA scientist Richard Fisher said Said this in a report released by NASA before the meeting. Scientists warn that while extremely powerful solar storms are unlikely, more work needs to be done to prepare for the potential danger. Scientists emphasize that humans have seen the serious consequences of solar activity before. Caused power outages and damaged communication facilities. In 1859, a solar storm known as the "Carrington Event" "scorched" the telegraph system. Astronomer Richard Carrington first discovered the cause, so this solar storm was called the "Carrington event." Another powerful solar storm in 1989 caused power outages in the Canadian province of Quebec. There are also some solar storms that cause aircraft flights to change their routes and damage communication satellites. In 2009, experts from across the United States submitted a report to the National Academy of Sciences on the economic and social impacts of solar storms. The purpose of the report is to raise awareness of the dangers of solar storms and encourage the private sector to prepare for severe solar storms. The report warns that the most direct consequence of solar storms is paralysis of the power grid. It will take more than 12 months to repair the grid. John Kappenman, an analyst at a company that studies the impact of electromagnetic interference on power systems, said in a report that damaged substations will take longer to repair. He said it would take 12 months or more to replace damaged parts. According to the National Academy of Sciences report, "The collateral effects of prolonged power outages are disruptions to transportation, communications, banking and financial systems, and services; drinking water supplies are paralyzed; and food and medicine are difficult to preserve due to lack of ice." The report says services Deficiencies will spread from one region to the entire country, and may eventually have international consequences. The report said the cost of such a catastrophic scenario would be trillions of dollars. The worst-case scenario is unlikely to occur. However, some scientists emphasized that the worst-case scenario mentioned above is unlikely to occur. Michael Kaiser, project scientist for NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Observatory mission, said he doesn't think a doomsday scenario will occur. Although he acknowledged that previous solar storms caused great damage, he said that if a solar storm of the same intensity strikes again, grid operators will adjust the system to mitigate losses if there is sufficient warning. ·Comprehensive·Keyword Interpretation The magnetosphere is a layer of invisible charged particles surrounding the earth. It is equivalent to the protective layer of the earth's magnetic field, protecting the earth from the impact of the solar wind. It can block the flow of charged particles from the sun, effectively block the invasion of the solar wind, and prevent the flow of charged particles from transmitting energy to gas molecules in the atmosphere, so that the gas molecules cannot escape the gravitational pull of the earth. This discovery will help people accurately estimate the formation time and age of the earth. In December 2008, NASA announced that it had discovered a large hole in the magnetosphere, which was four times wider than the Earth and was still expanding. Various harmful particles shot to the earth from outer space will have a more direct impact on nature and human society. Solar storm Solar storm refers to the violent burst of activity produced by the sun during the peak period of sunspot activity. The high-speed particle flow formed by releasing a large number of charged particles during the explosion seriously affects the earth's space environment, destroys the ozone layer, interferes with wireless communications, and is also harmful to human health. Project Kuafu is a Chinese solar monitoring satellite project, also known as the "space storm, aurora and space weather" detection project. The project is named after Kuafu in Chinese mythology. Since 2012 will be a year of peak solar activity and solar activity will be very strong from 2012 to 2014, the three satellites of the Kuafu Plan are recommended to be launched within this time. If implemented as scheduled, the plan will be the only system in the world The solar-terrestrial space exploration program. The Carrington Event In 1859, a solar storm known as the "Carrington Event" "scorched" the telegraph system. However, in 1859, the world still relied mainly on steam engines and muscle labor, so it did not bring too serious disasters to mankind.

Astronomer Richard Carrington first discovered this phenomenon, so this solar storm is called the Carrington Event. Solar Magnetic Field What is the solar magnetic field: The magnetic field distributed in the sun and interplanetary space. Divided into large-scale structure and small-scale structure. The former mainly refers to the sun's universal magnetic field and the overall magnetic field, which are unipolar, while the latter is mainly concentrated near the solar active area, and most of them are bipolar magnetic fields. [Details] The significance of studying the solar magnetic field: Most of the material in the sun is high-temperature plasma, and the physical state, movement and evolution of the sun are closely related to the magnetic field. Active phenomena such as sunspots, flares, and solar prominences are directly controlled by the magnetic field. Therefore, the study of the solar magnetic field is of great significance. [Details] The origin of the sun's magnetic field: The source of the sun's magnetic field is an unsolved problem. The existing theories can be divided into two categories: one is the fossil theory, which believes that the existing magnetism is leftover from the material that formed the sun billions of years ago. The other type is the currently generally recognized dynamo theory (solar mean magnetocurrent dynamo mechanism), which believes that the sun's magnetic field is the result of the amplification of the weak neutron magnetic field by the movement of charged matter. The impact of solar activities such as flares on the earth: sometimes solar activity is relatively quiet, sometimes more violent; sunspots and flares are intense solar activity phenomena. A large flare can release 1030 to 1033 ergs of energy. When sunspots and flares increase on the sun, the strong radio waves emitted will disturb the ionosphere above the earth, affecting short-wave radio communications on the ground and even causing brief interruptions. The high-energy protons ejected when large flares occur are extremely destructive to space activities. High-energy protons reaching the vicinity of the Earth, especially the polar regions protected by the radiation-free belt, will affect polar flight. SDO What is SDO Solar Dynamics Observatory? The Solar Dynamics Observatory was designed in part by the Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, a subsidiary of the British Science and Technology Foundation Council. It is currently the most advanced solar observation satellite. aircraft. The satellite was launched by a Hercules V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in February 2010. It will observe the sun in the next five years, allowing humans to deepen their understanding of solar flares and coronal ejections. Understand and study how it impacts the Earth. The satellite will revolutionize solar physics and explain the causes of vortices on the sun's surface. The vortex on the sun's surface envelops billions of tons of plasma clouds. The power of the flares that erupt is equivalent to millions of rays, and the wind speed there can reach millions of miles per hour. Fisher, head of the Heliophysics Department at NASA Headquarters, said that SDO is a basic mission for solar research in the next ten years and will take a big step forward in understanding the sun and its impact on human life and society. SDO will use three sets of instruments to monitor solar activity, namely the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) built by Lockheed Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) provided by Stanford University. and the Extreme Ultraviolet Variation Experiment, built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.