The events of Carrington in 1859. The most powerful solar flares in history. CME impact

FLASH CARRINGTON. SOLAR SUPER STORM 1859

Solar flares happen regularly. The frequency and power depends on the phase of the solar cycle. This phenomenon is being studied by astronomers from all over the world. In the era of space exploration, forecasting solar flares plays an important role in astronautics.
For an inhabitant of the Earth, flares on the Sun, as a rule, do not have a significant impact. But in 1859 there was an outbreak of such power that if it occurred at the present time, the results would have been deplorable.

sunspots
On the star closest to us, people noticed large dark spots more than 2 thousand years ago. The first reports of this date back to 800 BC. The first Chinese astronomers noticed that there are dark regions on the Sun that are clearly visible on a bright disk. We now know that in these areas the surface temperature is 1,200 oC lower. Therefore, they are clearly visible compared to hotter areas.
Sunspots are areas where strong magnetic fields erupt to the surface. These fields suppress thermal radiation because the convective motion of matter slows down.
Photo showing sunspots. These are colder (at 1500 K) regions on the surface of the star, so from the side they appear almost black.

solar flares
A solar flare often occurs near a sunspot. This is an explosive process of enormous power, during which billions of megatons of TNT equivalent of energy are released. A solar flare can last several minutes. At this time, strong X-ray radiation diverges from the epicenter of the outbreak, which is so strong that it reaches the limits of the Earth. The registration of flare radiation strength began with the launch of the first satellites into earth orbit. Solar flare power is measured in W/m2. According to the classification used (proposed by D. Baker), weak flashes are marked with the letters A, B and C, medium ones with the letter M, and the strongest ones with the letter X.
The most powerful flare that has occurred since the beginning of the registration of solar flares occurred in 2003. It was assigned a score of X28. (28 * 10-4 W/m2).
During the flare, the surface of the planet explodes, releasing tremendous energy. The flash is accompanied by strong X-rays that can reach our planet.

Carrington Event: Geomagnetic Storm of 1859
In 1859, astronomer Richard Carrington, after whom the incident was later nicknamed, discovered strange spots on the Sun. The huge blackouts on its surface were of incredible size, and a few hours after discovery, they became visible to the naked eye.
After a short time, these spots turned into two huge balls, which even eclipsed the Sun for a while, and then disappeared. Carrington suggested that two huge solar flares, two mega explosions, occurred on the surface of our star, and he was not mistaken.
After 17 hours, the night over America became day - it was light from green and crimson flashes of radiance. The cities seemed to be on fire. Even the inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, the Hawaiian Islands, who had never seen anything like it before, observed the glow above their heads.
Throughout North America, electricity suddenly went out, all telegraph equipment burned down and all other electrical appliances failed. The first magnetometers, of which there were only a few at that time, went off scale and then immediately failed. Sparks rained down from the machines, stinging the telegraphers and setting fire to the paper. The phenomenon of the autumn night of the distant 1859 forever remained in history as the first massive plasma impact and was called the Carrington event.

What if this happens in our time
Solar flares occur due to the mixing of gases. Sometimes the luminary shoots them into space. Tens of billions of tons of incandescent plasma come off the surface. These cyclopean clots are rushing towards the Earth at a speed of millions of kilometers per hour. And even faster along the way. The impact takes on the magnetic field of the planet.
At first, people will be able to observe an aurora similar to the aurora, but many times brighter. Then all power systems, transformers will fail. The most vulnerable elements are transformers. They will quickly overheat and melt. According to experts, in the US alone 90 seconds after the impact, 300 key transformers will burn down. And more than 130 million people will be left without electricity.
No one will die, and the consequences of a solar attack will not appear immediately. But drinking water will stop flowing, gas stations will be turned off, oil and gas pipelines will stop functioning. Autonomous power systems in hospitals will work for three days, then stop. Refrigeration and food storage systems will fail. As a result, experts calculated, millions of people will die during the year due to the indirect consequences of economic paralysis.
A similar magnetic storm occurred in 1859. But then the industry was just beginning to develop, and therefore the world did not suffer great losses. Now humanity is more vulnerable. Suffice it to recall the consequences of one of the weaker storms: in 1989, a modest solar storm plunged the Canadian province of Quebec into darkness, 6 million people were left without electricity for 9 hours.
Plasma charging can lead to the worst consequences. But why does it take so many years to recover? NASA experts say it's all about the transformers: they can't be repaired, they can only be replaced, and the factories that produce them will be paralyzed. Therefore, the recovery process will be very slow.
“The consequences of a sudden solar storm are comparable to a nuclear war or a giant asteroid hitting Earth,” says Professor Daniel Baker, a space weather expert at the University of Colorado in Boulder and chair of the NAS committee responsible for preparing the report. .
“If an event occurs that is similar to what happened in the fall of 1859, then we may not survive it,” says James L. Green, one of the directors of NASA and a specialist in the magnetosphere.
“There is another danger,” says Daniel Baker, “the so-called rolling blackouts. Energy networks on the continents are interconnected. And the loss of even a single node will entail a cascade of accidents. For example, in 2006, a banal shutdown of one of the power lines in Germany caused a series of damage to transformer substations throughout Europe. In France, five million people sat without electricity for two hours.”
“Then in 1859 – humanity was just lucky because it didn’t reach a high technological level,” says James Green. - Now, if something like this happens, it will take at least ten years to restore the destroyed world infrastructure. And trillions of dollars.”

Carrington's flash not only lit up the sky. She disabled the telegraph. Live wires were scattered in a sheaf of sparks. People woke up and went to work, confident that morning had come. It is scary even to imagine what would happen if an outbreak of such power occurred at the present time. Now, when the whole world is entangled in wires, and without electricity, a real collapse will come in an instant, it can cause serious damage to all mankind.

Solar flares of this magnitude occur every 500 years. But solar storms of a smaller scale (but seriously felt on Earth) occur more often. Therefore, a person has already taken care of the electromagnetic safety of modern devices responsible for life support. According to experts, the Earth is ready for a repeat of the Carrington Flash. Undoubtedly, a strong perturbation of the planet's geomagnetic background will not go unnoticed, but in an instant we will not return to the pre-electric era.

Solar Superstorm of 1859 September 5th, 2015

156 years ago September 2 Earth's magnetic field was hit by a giant solar coronal mass ejection. Tourists in the Rocky Mountains woke up in the middle of the night thinking it was dawn. In fact, the horizon was illuminated by the brightest northern lights.

In Cuba, people read their morning papers by the reddish light of polar lights. Charged particles bombarded the Earth so vigorously that they changed the chemical composition of the polar ice. The magnetic storm lasted all day. The "Victorian Internet" - the telegraph - was completely disabled. Magnetometers around the world recorded strong disturbances in the planet's magnetic field for more than a week. The reason for all this was an incredible solar flare, which was registered a day earlier by a British astronomer. Richard Carrington.
In 1859, an astronomer Richard Carrington, after whose name the incident was later called, discovered strange spots on the Sun. The huge blackouts on its surface were of incredible size, and a few hours after discovery, they became visible to the naked eye.

After a short time, these spots turned into two huge balls, which even eclipsed the Sun for a while, and then disappeared. Carrington suggested that two huge solar flares, two mega explosions, occurred on the surface of our star, and he was not mistaken.

After 17 hours, the night over America became day - it was light from green and crimson flashes of radiance. The cities seemed to be on fire. Even the inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, the Hawaiian Islands, who had never seen anything like it before, observed the glow above their heads.

Throughout North America, electricity suddenly went out, all telegraph equipment burned down and all other electrical appliances failed. The first magnetometers, of which there were only a few at that time, went off scale and then immediately failed. Sparks rained down from the machines, stinging the telegraphers and setting fire to the paper. The phenomenon of the autumn night of the distant 1859 forever remained in history as the first massive plasma impact and was called the Carrington event.

What if this happens in our time

Solar flares occur due to the mixing of gases. Sometimes the luminary shoots them into space. Tens of billions of tons of incandescent plasma come off the surface. These cyclopean clots are rushing towards the Earth at a speed of millions of kilometers per hour. And even faster along the way. The impact takes on the magnetic field of the planet.

At first, people will be able to observe an aurora similar to the aurora, but many times brighter. Then all power systems, transformers will fail. The most vulnerable elements are transformers. They will quickly overheat and melt. According to experts, in the US alone 90 seconds after the impact, 300 key transformers will burn down. And more than 130 million people will be left without electricity.

No one will die, and the consequences of a solar attack will not appear immediately. But drinking water will stop flowing, gas stations will be turned off, oil and gas pipelines will stop functioning. Autonomous power systems in hospitals will work for three days, then stop. Refrigeration and food storage systems will fail. As a result, experts calculated, millions of people will die during the year due to the indirect consequences of economic paralysis.

A similar magnetic storm occurred in 1859. But then the industry was just beginning to develop, and therefore the world did not suffer great losses. Now humanity is more vulnerable. Suffice it to recall the consequences of one of the weaker storms: in 1989, a modest solar storm plunged the Canadian province of Quebec into darkness, 6 million people were left without electricity for 9 hours.

Plasma charging can lead to the worst consequences. But why does it take so many years to recover? NASA experts say it's all about the transformers: they can't be repaired, they can only be replaced, and the factories that produce them will be paralyzed. Therefore, the recovery process will be very slow.

"The consequences of a sudden solar storm are comparable to a nuclear war or the fall of a giant asteroid to Earth", - speaks Professor Daniel Baker, a space weather expert from the University of Colorado in Boulder and chair of the NAS committee responsible for producing the report.

"If an event occurs similar to what happened in the autumn of 1859, then we may not survive it.", - speaks James Green (James L. Green), co-director of NASA and specialist in the magnetosphere.

"There's another danger, - speaks Daniel Baker, - so-called rolling blackouts. Energy networks on the continents are interconnected. And the loss of even a single node will entail a cascade of accidents. For example, in 2006, a banal shutdown of one of the power lines in Germany caused a series of damage to transformer substations throughout Europe. In France, five million people sat without electricity for two hours".

"Then in 1859 - humanity was just lucky, because it did not reach a high technological level, - speaks James Green. - Now, if this happens, it will take at least ten years to restore the destroyed world infrastructure. And trillions of dollars".

By the way, the last time a flash of such force occurred on the Sun just a few years ago -

Geophysicists questioned the fact that in 1859 there was the most powerful magnetic storm on Earth in the entire history of observations - the so-called "Solar Superstorm". The authors published the results of the research in the Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate, and Science News briefly reports on them.

In early September 1859, a geomagnetic storm brought down the telegraph systems of Europe and North America. The cause of the incident is called a powerful coronal mass ejection, which reached the planet in 18 hours and was observed on September 1 by British astronomer Richard Carrington.

A geomagnetic storm in 1859 caused much less damage than previously thought. In particular, far fewer territories, households and people were affected by it than reported in official reports. To confirm this, geophysicists compared data on geomagnetic storms in 1859, 2003 and 2005.

The geomagnetic storms of 2003 and 2005 are similar to the Solar Superstorm. For example, on October 28, 2003, a natural phenomenon put out of action one of the high-voltage transformers in the city of Malmö, and thus de-energized this settlement for an hour. At the same time, other countries also suffered from the storm.

Geophysicists analyzed the patterns of changes in the magnetic field strength in different regions of the Earth within 48 hours after fragments of a coronal mass ejection from the Sun reached the planet. Scientists have shown that the magnetic storm on the planet was not of a global nature.

According to geophysicists, the fears associated with a coronal mass ejection from the Sun are not justified, since changes in the magnetic field on Earth will not affect the entire planet, but only some of its parts. This means that a simultaneous shutdown of all the Earth's power systems in the event of a geomagnetic storm is unlikely.

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MOSCOW, December 26 - RIA Novosti. A solar superflare in 774 AD was several times more powerful than the previous record holder, the 1859 Carrington Event, capable of destroying all electronic devices and electrical networks on Earth, astronomers say in an article posted in the electronic library of Cornell University.

Flares occur periodically on the Sun - explosive episodes of the release of energy in the form of visible light, heat and X-rays. It is believed that the most powerful outbreak occurred in 1859 during the so-called "Carrington event". During this powerful outbreak, approximately 10 yottojoules (10 to the 25th power) of energy were released, which is 20 times the energy released during the meteorite impact that destroyed dinosaurs and marine reptiles.

Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas at Lawrence (USA) and his colleague Brian Thomas (Brian Thomas) of Washburn University in Topeka (USA) studied the "superflare" on the Sun in the 8th century AD, whose traces were recently found in annual rings of Japanese cedars.

According to the researchers, the discoverers of the ancient outbreak, Japanese physicists led by Fusa Miyake from the University of Nagoya (Japan), considered it a so-called "superflare", the power of which exceeded all known bursts of solar activity by several orders of magnitude.

Some astronomers questioned such a scenario. In their opinion, this flash cannot be explained by an unusually strong plasma ejection on the Sun, and its cause lies in other cosmic or natural disasters.

Melott and Thomas tested both hypotheses by trying to calculate the exact amount of energy that could have been released during a superflare in 774.

To do this, scientists calculated the proportion of radioactive carbon-14 in the annual rings of cedars, and determined the amount of energy that was brought to Earth by a flash. Astronomers then tried to calculate the energy of the ejection on the Sun itself by changing the area of ​​the flare and the proportion of its matter that reached our planet.

It turned out that the flash power was two orders of magnitude lower than the maximum values ​​predicted by their colleagues. However, this does not deprive the 774 event of the status of a "superflare". According to the calculations of the researchers, during the burst of 774, about 200 yottojoules (2 * 10 to the 26th power) of energy were released on the Sun, which is 20 times the power of the "Carrington event".

A similar cataclysm today would lead not only to the destruction of electronics on board satellites and the Earth's surface, but also to the appearance of other anomalies. Thus, the proportion of ozone at the boundaries of the stratosphere and troposphere would decrease by 20% in the first months after the outbreak, and would remain low for several years.

According to Melott and Thomas, this would lead to a deterioration in the health of plants and animals around the world, and an increase in the incidence of skin cancer. However, a mass extinction of flora and fauna is unlikely, which adds another argument in favor of the realism of such outbreaks.

According to the authors of the article, such "superflares" can occur once every 1250 years, which underlines the importance of observing the "health" of the Sun, given their catastrophic consequences for the infrastructure of modern civilization.

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A person cannot imagine his life without sunlight and heat. However, the Sun brings us not only joy. Every 11 years, cataclysms occur on it, which have a significant impact on our existence. What are the most powerful flares recorded on the Sun over the entire period of observations, and why are they dangerous for humanity?

The Greatest Storm of 1859

The Great Storm or Solar Superstorm was called the most powerful outbreak, happened in 1859. From the end of August to September 2, a sharp formation and disappearance of spots and flashes was observed on the Sun. Already modern scientists have established that these phenomena were accompanied by large-scale coronal mass ejections.

The largest burst of solar matter was noted on September 1 by scientist R. Carrington. The ejection caused phenomenal events on Earth. Across the planet, telegraph lines were decommissioned, people were left without communication, and the brightest “Northern Lights” blazed in the atmosphere.

Scientists claim that it was the strongest geomagnetic storm ever studied. The power of the solar vortex and the incredible speed with which stellar particles reached the Earth are explained by the fact that 2-3 previous days, coronal ejections "paved a direct path" from the Sun to the planet.

Solar Storm 774

But according to some researchers, the outbreak of 1859 cannot take a leading place in terms of its strength and speed of magnetic storms. There is an assumption that it is inferior to a more powerful solar storm that happened in 774 and had a significant negative impact on the planet.

Scientists checked the growth rings of old trees for the presence of radioactive carbon-14 and came to the conclusion that in 774 the sun really threw out an impressive amount of charged particles. In terms of its strength, the release exceeded the Superstorm of 1859 by almost 20 times. However, its intensity was much lower than expected and could not have ended in a planetary catastrophe.

Railroad storm of 1921

On May 13, 1921, a huge spot was noticed on the solar sphere. Its diameter was approximately 300 thousand kilometers. And 2 days later, a geomagnetic storm occurred, blocking the work of half of the technical facilities of the main railroad in New York. Almost the entire Eastern part of the United States became without communication.

1972 solar storm

On July 27, 1972, astronomers noted a major center of activity rising from the eastern edge of the Sun. Auroras and ejections began on the limb, the brightness of the corona increased, and the flux of radio emission increased. The first strong flare with a powerful range was recorded on August 2.

On August 4, there was a second burst of activity. After some time, the satellites recorded impressive proton fluxes, which indicated a sharp acceleration of solar particles. The second outbreak had an impressive impact on the processes in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere.

The third outbreak occurred on 7 August. It was the most powerful in the visible range, but its influence was smaller compared to the previous surge.

It must be said that large solar disturbances are very dangerous for astronauts. During the storm of 1972, the Apollo 16 spacecraft was operating in low Earth orbit. The astronauts were only slightly affected by the X2 level flare. If it were not for luck, they would have been subjected to a large exposure to three hundred Rem, from which they would have died in a maximum of 3-4 weeks.

1989 solar storm

On March 13, an X15 level geomagnetic storm occurred, clearly showing the danger of solar disturbances. Its result was the de-energization of the mass of Canadian homes located in Montreal and on the outskirts of Quebec.

With difficulty resisted the electromagnetic pressure of the power grid of the northern states of the United States. The effects of the storm were felt throughout the world. The inhabitants of the planet could admire the unprecedented beauty of the Northern Lights.

During this period, radio communication between the USSR and the USA was blocked, and flashes of the northern lights were visible even over the Crimean sky. The deformed field of the planet destroyed one of the installations of the nuclear station in New Jersey.

Solar Storm on Bastille Day

On July 14, 2000, on the 211th anniversary of the capture of the Bastille, another solar storm was recorded, called the Bastille Day outbreak. Even the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, installed at a great distance from the Sun, were able to detect the strength of solar activity.

The consequences of this surge were felt in every corner of the Earth. Radio communication problems began. Passengers of planes that flew over the poles were exposed to radiation. Fortunately, his level was relatively small and did not play a detrimental role.

Halloween Flash

October 2003 was marked by one of the strongest X45 solar storms. Scientists were not able to accurately measure its power - the equipment of the orbiting telescopes could not withstand such a load and was "late" by more than 10 minutes.

Most of the solar flux passed without hitting the surface of the planet. But a number of satellites were damaged by coronal mass ejections, resulting in cell and telephone outages.

2005 outbreak

In September 2005, three cases of solar activity were noted: on September 7, 8 and 9. The outbreak on September 7 was the fourth most intense of those studied by science. According to official data, the electromagnetic impact on the circumplanetary space has reached the maximum degree of intensity R5.

On September 9, at the very peak of solar intensity, a record number of suicides occurred in Moscow - 10 people per day. Experts believe that the mass loss of life was also caused by a solar storm.

Solar storm of 2006

On December 5, 2006, a solar burst of X9 peak power was recorded. Fortunately, its flow was directed in the opposite direction from the Earth. This is evidenced by the data of two STEREO spacecraft installed in orbit to study stellar activity.

Solar disturbances of 2011

On August 9, 2011, a solar storm occurred, which became the peak of the last solar rotation. Her level was X6.9. This burst was called the leader of cycle 24. It was recorded by one of the NASA satellites, which was the property of the observatory for the study of stellar activity. The particles of the stream affected the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere, which led to malfunctions in radio communications.

2012 outbreak

This year, on July 21, serious problems with radio communications occurred on Earth. Many inhabitants of the planet could admire the unusually bright auroras. All these events were caused by a giant X1.4 level flare, which was released to the Earth by the dynamic solar region of 1520.

Solar disturbances of 2015

On May 7, 2015, there was another massive outbreak. Its activity was equal to the level X2.7. Many will think that this is quite a bit. But even such an indicator is enough to disrupt communication and cause the brightest polar flashes. In addition, we can now admire beautiful photographs taken from near-Earth satellites.

Solar Storm 2017

September 6, 2017 was marked by the most intense solar storm in the last 12 years. The flash was attributed to the X9.3 level, indicating the highest strength. The second powerful surge was recorded on September 7th, and the third on September 8th.

The final outbreak of unprecedented strength occurred on September 10th. The luminary “spit out” a huge mass of plasma into outer space. Scientists claim that the outbreaks on September 6 and 10 are among the strongest that the Sun can ever produce.

Causes and effects of solar disturbances

Solar storms are caused by a surge of energy in a star's atmosphere. The formation of the strongest storms depends on the magnetic fields of the star. Solar flares are called cataclysmic phenomena that form on the surface of a star.

The formation of solar storms takes place in several stages:

• Breakage of magnetic lines of force and their connection into a new structure;
• The release of an uncounted amount of energy;
• Overheating of the solar system;
• Acceleration of charged elements to superluminal speeds.

Flares are divided into groups depending on the level of X-ray emission. The degree of intensity is indicated by numbers from 1.0 to 9.9 for the letters from A to X. Class X flares are considered the most powerful of all studied in terms of X-ray strength. In most cases, they do not reach the planet, but they have a significant effect on its magnetic field.

The energy released by superflares can be compared to the explosions of trillions of megaton atomic bombs. They are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections. This is the name given to trillions of tons of matter moving at a speed of several hundred km / s. Having reached our planet, they come into contact with its magnetosphere, causing failures of technical devices.

Layers of solar energy reach the Earth at different speeds:

• X-ray radiation in 8 minutes;
• Heavy elements in a few hours;
• Plasma clouds from coronal ejections for 2-3 days.

Geomagnetic fluctuations have a significant impact not only on radio electronics, but also on human health. Failures in the Earth's magnetic field are manifested by unexpected headaches, jumps in blood pressure, exacerbation of chronic ailments. At this time, the number of suicides increases 5 times, strokes and heart attacks increase by 15%.

Fortunately, the human body is characterized not only by hypersensitivity, but also by rapid adaptation to repetitive phenomena. Solar flares occur with a certain frequency, but we feel only the strongest ones.

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