Deadly solar storms could knock out the internet and power for hours and give citizens just 30 minutes to prepare, according to a new NASA study.
The US space agency has developed a new system with the help of artificial intelligence to predict when catastrophic events will hit Earth.
Although the system is the most advanced warning, 30 minutes may not be enough to prepare the world for total darkness. However, people can now take steps to prepare for an extreme solar event, the Daily Mail reports.
the sun storm
A solar storm is an astronomical phenomenon that originates from the Sun. It is a wave of charged solar particles (cosmic rays) that, leaving the Sun’s corona, explode and accelerate due to one or more solar flares.
A powerful wave of energetic particles from solar flares means it will align with Earth’s magnetic fields. Then it is possible to cause problems in electrical networks, since their transformers break down and are difficult to restore. It also affects the global positioning system (GPS) and in general all kinds of infrastructures and services, including underwater water pipes with electric pumps.
NASA announced in March the development of its computational model called DAGGER (formally Deep Learning Geomagnetic Perturbation), but the research is now being made public.
With the help of artificial intelligence the warnings
An international team of researchers from the Frontier Development Lab, a public-private partnership involving NASA, the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Energy, have used artificial intelligence to search for connections between wind Solar and geomagnetic disturbances, or disruptions that wreak havoc on our technology.
The researchers applied an artificial intelligence method called “deep learning,” which trains computers to recognize patterns based on previous examples. The team used advanced technology to identify relationships between solar wind measurements from heliophysics missions.
These missions are space probes carefully placed throughout space to create a wide array of sensors, which work together to study the Sun.
The team tested DAGGER in two geomagnetic storms, in August 2011 and March 2015. The system was able to quickly and accurately predict the effects of the storm around the world in each case.
Lead author Vishal Upendran, from the Indian Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, said in a statement:
“With this artificial intelligence, it is now possible to make fast and accurate global forecasts and inform decisions in the event of a solar storm, thus minimizing, or even preventing, disasters in modern society.”
Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is primarily a problem for precision drilling and other technologies. There could also be outages in GPS systems.
The storm may still cause communication problems, possibly forcing airlines to divert flights.
In 1859, a massive geomagnetic superstorm known as the Carrington Effect sent powerful coronal mass ejections toward Earth, disrupting communications on the ground. If such an event were to occur in the world today, the effects would be catastrophic.
The actions proposed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the event of a solar storm
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has shared ways to prepare for an extreme solar storm.
The body suggests filling plastic water containers and place them in the freezer. These can be used to keep refrigerated food cold in the event of a power outage.
The public must keep tank of your car at least half fullbecause gas stations depend on electricity to run their pumps.
if we have garage, to locate the manual opening button.
The organization also encourages citizens to create backups of important digital data and information and keep the money somewhere in your house because the banks will not be available due to power outages.