Analysis of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica by a research team led by Lund University in Sweden found evidence of an extreme solar storm that occurred about 9,200 years ago.
It's not the first sign of such an event discovered, but what puzzles researchers most is that the storm took place during one of the calmest phases of the sun. during which it is generally believed that our planet is least exposed to solar storms.
Obviously the sun is necessary for life on earth but it can also cause problems, when there is strong activity on the surface of the sun more energy is released which can lead to geomagnetic storms or solar storms this in turn can cause power outages and problems in communications and in general to damage all our technology based on space satellites.
Predicting solar storms is therefore something necessary for our technology-dependent civilization, but it is difficult. It is currently believed that solar storms are more likely during the active phase of the sun or solar maximum, which is when more sunspots are produced, in a cycle which lasts about 11 years.
The current cycle is number 25 since records have been made between 2023 and 2026, sunspots will present their highest level of activity, being the solar maximum in July 2025, however the new finding shows that very large storms can occur at times of supposed tranquility, but how did the researchers come to this conclusion.
Well, as I said studying the ice cores of Greenland and Antarctica, in fact what they were looking for in those ice cores were peaks of radioactive isotopes of beryllium 10 and chlorine 36, these isotopes are produced by high-energy cosmic particles that reach the earth and that can be preserved in ice and in sediments.
According to the researchers, if a similar solar storm were to occur today, it could have devastating consequences, power outages, radiation damage to satellites, very serious dangers to air traffic and astronauts, as well as the collapse of various communication systems. communication, for this reason the researchers ask to study this type of storms more and include them in risk assessments, since they say it is of the utmost importance to analyze what these events can mean for current technology and to analyze how we can protect ourselves from them.
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