The influence of the Earth solar storm much

A solar storm attack Earth, throwing the speculation and buzz — solar storm effects on Earth?

In early August, 1.49 billion kilometers from Earth than the solar flares and other outbreak triggered a solar storm, Earth latitude staged a magnificent auroras dance. Earth still safe and sound, such as "solar storm will hit the front ', ' Earth," mankind will return to the dark ages, "reported that has attracted considerable attention.

Seemingly threatening solar storm, whether just a powerlessness "beautiful Fireworks", or you can invent an Angel Dark Lucy's "?" in the near future will be super solar storm outbreak? reporters interviewed experts.

Between now and 2015, the Sun will be increasingly active

"Solar storm is not a scientific terminology, is a popular saying. "The National Astronomical Observatory, CAs solar laboratory director Yan yi Hua researcher from a professional perspective, explains the formation of the solar storm, gaofeng" in sunspot activity, the Sun will produce a series of violent eruption activity, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, etc. This process in all the Sun will release a lot of charged particles and high speed particles. This one, who hit the Earth and Earth's space environment hazards affect activities is called a solar storm. ”

"Solar storms and sunspots and solar energy release are closely related, to understanding solar storm, you want to find out what the three concepts, what is the sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections. "Yan yi Hua explained that the sunspot is an image, because Sun known magnetic pipe and solar surface intersection, magnetic restraint makes tube material is lower than the surrounding temperature, showing a color darker spots, sun spots so.

The average number of sunspot cycle is approximately 11 years, known as the solar activity cycle, each cycle of sunspot distribution maps are figuratively called "butterfly figure" (if the latitude sunspot to ordinate, taking time to draw horizontal, the distribution of sunspots, thus takes the form of the butterfly). Yan yi Hua said that the previous solar cycle from 1996 to the end of 2009, lasted for 13 years. "Sun has entered a new activity cycle, from now until 2015, the Sun will be increasingly active. ”

Flares and coronal mass ejections is an important manifestation of solar activity is the source of the solar storm. Solar flares are the solar surface local area suddenly and large-scale energy release process, one of the largest flares can transmit up to 10 of 25 th joules of energy, the equivalent of the world everyone "was" a bomb, or 10 million volcano eruptions of energy at the same time.

Coronal mass ejections are solar corona in the injection of substances. Larger ejections can be on a separate tons material acceleration to hundreds or even thousands per second, the fastest available km up to 2000 km per second, this speed is equivalent to Airbus 380 aircraft the maximum speed of 7000 times.

"Flares and coronal mass ejections eruption of matter and energy while most dispersed in space, but still have small collision of Earth, this will give us the Blue Planet Live space environmental impacts", Yan yi Hua said that "the extent of the impact, the effect size, also very different. ”

The history of the few major disasters caused by solar activity, Sun storm become "illnesses" in the electronic age

Although the solar cycle is only 11 years, but even so frequent solar activity, but few in the history of its major disasters. However, nearly a century solar storm impact on people's lives are getting bigger, even often have a lot of people will be solar storm and so-called "doomsday".

Two hundred years ago, along with access to electricity, solar storm threats also come together. Historically there have been numerous serious solar storm event, which took place in 1859 "Carrington event" is a history of the largest, which is called "Super solar storm." Strong magnetic effect allows the formation of the Telegraph Network just paralyzed. 20 century date on human impact most severely solar storm occurred in 1989, in 90 seconds burned more than 1 million, resulting in transformers Canada Quebec power outage 9 hours.

"We can say that solar storm is our high-tech era of illnesses. "Yan yi Hua said that with the advent of the electronic age, our lives are increasingly and electricity, satellite communications, Earth's space environment dependent on increasingly deep, solar storms will become visible.

Solar storm most direct harm, that is, on the threat of the space in the spacecraft. Strong solar storm could cause satellite chip breakdown, control disorder, or even make the spacecraft orbit deviates from almost every major solar storm will have satellite damage report. Moreover, solar storm violent radiation also on astronaut health pose a serious threat.

In addition, a large number of solar storms swept over the Earth a charged particle, on the one hand makes the Earth magnetic field changes, the rise geomagnetic and ionospheric storms and effects of radio communications in particular HF communication and further spread to air transport as well as satellite navigation devices. On the other hand, solar storm will also be on the grid at high latitude terrestrial, long distance pipeline powerful electromotive force, induction, resulting in power system overload, corrosion, impact transmission pipelines, oil and gas pipeline systems of safety.

Yan yi Hua that solar activity on climate ecological long-term impact is positive, but the specific mechanisms is not yet clear. There is currently no evidence to show that solar storm weather, earthquake, species extinction.

Sun "sneeze", the Earth is not necessarily a "cold"

The storm has passed, but leave people thinking of many problems. Why do the last time a solar storm is the "rain Thunder", some scientists forecast and actual impact far? near

The future will not occur in some people predicted "century Super solar storm"?

"With an image that is not a ' Sun, the Earth sneezing ' will ' cold '. "Yan yi Hua said, not every solar flares and coronal mass ejections will have an impact on the Earth, they broke out of direction is on Earth, the solar storm reach the Earth after the remaining energy, these are important factors to consider. Moreover, the protection of the Earth's magnetosphere, solar storm impacts on human life is significantly reduced. "This is like the body's immune system, protection to human health. Only carry with the magnetic field of Earth's polar opposite magnetic ejections will cut off the Earth's magnetosphere, tearing the Earth Magnetosphere entered the Earth ".

"At present, human beings also cannot accurately predict solar storm, but by monitoring the activities of the Sun, we can like prediction of Typhoon landing, forecasting solar storm on Earth in time and intensity. "Yan yi Hua said that if a flare activity, generated from solar flares to Earth observation to flare activity that takes approximately 8 minutes. While solar storm of high-energy particles reach the Earth takes about half an hour. Also, toss out of Corona charged particles reach the Earth for dozens of hours of time.

Yan yi Hua said, "in this time interval, we can cause flare of solar magnetic field the twist, generally figure out upcoming solar storm. If this is coronal mass ejections, it normally takes half a day to three to four days to reach the earth thus affecting the Earth's magnetic field. We can monitor the activity of the Sun, thus alerting initiatives of defensive measures, such as the satellite is in collection status on magnetic high latitudes reduce transmission line voltage or close the power grid, suspended span the Earth's polar regions of aviation services, avoid or reduce solar storm damage to human beings. ”

It is reported that China has basically able to include the Sun's magnetic field, a variety of physical parameters for measurement of ground solar observation system. National Observatory, the Purple Mountain Observatory, Yunnan Observatory, etc. There are a variety of advanced optical, infrared, radio, etc.-band Sun observation instrument, one meter in Yunnan Observatory infrared solar Tower and National Observatory Radioheliograph, new equipment is under construction, will be available at solar storm play an important role in monitoring.

Experts pointed out that, since the foundation of observation will be subject to the influence of the Earth's atmosphere, observation by spacecraft space more advantages. Unfortunately we currently have a professional solar physics observation satellites running, this limits the solar physics research and development of space science.

At present, the Chinese Academy of Sciences under the auspices of the National Observatory "SST" project is actively reporting, is expected to build the world's largest and most advanced solar telescope, make our ability to monitor solar activity into the international forefront.