NASA warns Sun may economically damage Earth

William Atkins
Monday, 12 January 2009 19:36

Science - Space

Consequently, such magnetic storms can adversely affect the performance and reliability of space-based and ground-based technical systems.

The January 5, 2009 NASA press release “NASA-Funded Study Reveals Hazards of Severe Space Weather” states “Space weather can produce solar storm electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, causing wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet.”

“Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles and the dislocation of the Earth's radiation belts, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting. Space weather has been recognized as causing problems with new technology since the invention of the telegraph in the 19th century.”

Through this report and others to follow NASA hopes that such information and data can help to raise public awareness of the potential problem in order to improve the Earth’s infrastructure and to develop an advanced forecasting capability.

NASA quotes Daniel Baker, who is a professor and director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (University of Colorado, Boulder). Dr. Baker states, "From a public policy perspective, it is quite significant that we have begun the extremely challenging task of assessing space weather impacts in a quantitative way.”

Baker adds, “Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems. We were delighted that NASA helped support bringing together dozens of world experts from industry and government to share their experiences and begin planning of improved public policy strategies."

The NASA Heliophysics website makes a sobering but accurate statement about the Earth’s relationship to the Sun.

It states, “Under the protective shield of a magnetic field and atmosphere, the Earth is an island in the Universe where life has developed and flourished. The origins and fate of life on Earth are intimately connected to the way the Earth responds to the Sun's variations.”