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Massive solar storm to hit Earth in 2012 with 'force of 100m bombs' | Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused
spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs. Several US media outlets have
reported that NASA was warning the massive flare this month was just a precursor
to a massive solar storm building that had the potential to wipe out the entire
planet's power grid. Despite its rebuttal, NASA's been watching out for this storm
since 2006 and reports from the US this week claim the storms could hit on that
most Hollywood of disaster dates - 2012. Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921
caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale. The 2012
storm has the potential to be even more disruptive. "The general consensus among
general astronomers (and certainly solar astronomers) is that this coming Solar
maximum (2012 but possibly later into 2013) will be the most violent in 100 years,"
News.com.au quoted astronomy lecturer and columnist Dave Reneke as saying. "A
bold statement and one taken seriously by those it will affect most, namely airline
companies, communications companies and anyone working with modern GPS systems.
"They can even trip circuit breakers and knock out orbiting satellites, as has
already been done this year," added Reneke. No one really knows what effect the
2012-2013 Solar Max will have on today's digital-reliant society. Dr Richard Fisher,
director of NASA's Heliophysics division, told Reneke the super storm would hit
like "a bolt of lightning", causing catastrophic consequences for the world's
health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken.
NASA said that a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences found that
if a similar storm occurred today, it could cause "1 to 2 trillion dollars in
damages to society's high-tech infrastructure and require four to 10 years for
complete recovery". The reason for the concern comes as the sun enters a phase
known as Solar Cycle 24. Most experts agree, although those who put the date of
Solar Max in 2012 are getting the most press. They claim satellites will be aged
by 50 years, rendering GPS even more useless than ever, and the blast will have
the equivalent energy of 100 million hydrogen bombs. "We know it is coming but
we don't know how bad it is going to be," Fisher told Reneke. "Systems will just
not work. The flares change the magnetic field on the Earth and it's rapid, just
like a lightning bolt. That's the solar effect," he added. The findings are published
in the most recent issue of Australasian Science. |
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