The Sun emitted a significant solar flare peaking at 10:29 a.m. EDT on July 3, 2021. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however – when intense enough – they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
This flare is classified as an X1.5-class flare.
X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
Solar flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are A-class, followed by B, C, M and X, the largest. Credit: NASA/Goddard/S. Wiessinger
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39 Comments
Why aren’t we preparing for a Carrington like event? In 2012 we escaped total chaos, supply lines would have been disrupted and lots of people would have died, nothing happened because we were lucky.
Somehow we are preparing for far less likely catastrophes and ignoring eminent danger, even more so because earths magnetic field has been weakening, it’s almost like they want it to happen.
Because most modern systems are protected already.
Prove to me our systems are protected – people go before Congress time & again pleading with the government to bolster up our grid to avoid catastrophe. I might be wrong, if I am, I missed the article that stated our grid is now protected from solar flares and rogue stellar nuclear blasts since Sept 2020….
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/515840-congress-needs-to-finalize-space-weather-bill-as-solar-storms-pose
No, we are not protected. But most industrial nations do not have US poor, piecemeal power grid which has problems even without solar flares.
We expect a normal solar cycle, so no increased worries.
What are “they”!? The ever undefined ’cause’ in humdrum conspiracy theory?
Individually, what can be done? Faraday Cage on everything with circuits?
Collectively, after such an event is identified, we have only 8 minutes,which is better than nothing, to possibly do what?
We have no lead time over the universal speed limit you refer to. But most effects come with the slower solar wind, and little of that ever reach the Earth surface due to our dense atmosphere.
Individualy, everything with wires is most vulnerable. Do we set up Faraday cages for all that, somehow?
Collectively, we have 8 minutes, at the most lead time, which is better than nothing, but how? What can realistically be done?
In the meantime. What can be done to harden our vulnerable infrastructure?
Civilization is totally dependent on technology that will all be wiped out by the next Carrington event. Therefore civilization comes to an end. It could be even worse than that though. Think about all the world’s nuke plants failing simultaneously and the amount of radiation released as a result.
I don’t know who the “they” are that might want this to happen. I happen to believe that the “they” of us that understand the effects of a Carrington level know there is no way to prepare for it. I as one feel that a shut down of 10 to 15 years would be an excellent thing for this planet and for us
Lots of suffering and death if that happens.
It looks to be rare, and we don’t know much of what the effects will be.
Who’s they?
Why doesn’t this story include where there are good chances of seeing Northern Lights?
With 8 minutes you’ll have enough time to get your aluminum foil out and make yourself a tin foil hat like the kids in the movie Signs.🤣😂
At the end of the day whatever the threat is from the universe. We are not prepared at all as it will be that and the not knowing that will destroy mankind and Earth
It has been 4 billion years of biosphere.
If you define mankind narrowly as our species, a mammal species has on average 1 Myrs lifetime due to evolution. Else mankind would be 3+ million years old, with lots of extinctions already and it wouldn’t look good anyway.
What do you mean when you say that we only have 8 minutes to prepare for the effects of a solar flare? The EM radiation emitted by our Sun does indeed takes around 8 minutes to reach Earth. That is how we detect the bloody thing in the first place. You have precisely zero time to prepare for the EM component of the solar flares, and that is absolutely fine because that’s not going to affect us in any way. Coronal mass ejections that hit us head-on can be an issue, however those are particles that travel well under the speed of light. We would know about that at least 15 hours in advance, even up to a few days. A “Carrington level event” (which btw is not the theoretical top of the scale) would mainly affect our enormous electricity distribution grid, not your pocket phone or your toaster. And alas, for all of you out there hoping that civilization would end so you can finally get to feel special, we can prepare for it. Simply unplug the damn things. The shorter the network, the lower the induced current – while this would still lead to global outages for a while, it is very unlikely to end our civilization. If the recent pandemic taught us anything, it is that uncultured, distrusting apes are likely to cause more harm than any natural disaster. This is all quite unsettling – and I am not referring to the solar flare, but to the general lack of understanding of phenomena, combined with fearmongering, fatalism and conspiracism that transpires from the comments.
Thanks for this, I should have read through the thread first!
I thought we couldn’t really know what would be the equivalent outcome today, but it seems people have tried to assess it and that they agree with you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event . So thank you for prompting me to find and RTFM on this!
8 minutes. So you are saying the flare travels at the speed of light. We will have a couple of days to prepare before a flare hits us, as long as we see it happen.
Do we know when we will have dodged this bullet, if we do ? Will we know it has past us on Tuesday July 14 (Bastille day).?
And do we have any idea of how often these solar events will aim something in our direction?
To the people who are freaking out about this potentially happening the thing is is it will send us back to the Stone Age like people think they really wouldn’t the thing is is a big event like that might fry a bunch of electronics but I do remind you that we have plenty of computers that are set up in ways that he wouldn’t be fried we also have massive volumes of actual papers for the majority of Innovations so it’s just one of those that it’s like if it did happen it would definitely screw some sh*t up but it really wouldn’t affect us as badly as people think. The big issue would be the Panic of the people
Why worry what will be will be well all die one day no escaping it
Modern systems cannot handle a heatwave. Grids collapse in areas of wise spread ac use.
A nuclear power plant creates less energy than a field of solar panels that would fit within the neuclear containment area of the plant.
It’s not futile to try to prepare.
Gone are the days of putting profit above the health of the planet and the people.
Although light arrives ~8 minutes after it leaves the sun, the Carrington CME took 4 days to travel the 1 AU to interact with earth, and disrupt telegraphs. Not that 4 days gives much better of a chance of a last minute fix…
Because if it’s not trump or covid, it’s not relevant. This world is governed by those that care more about ratings and money.
On 3rd July morning 9:30am to 10:30am India (south) I was working on terrace and sunlight was very bright that day my body has become 10% black but bunniyan wear down remained same. Since a week it is same dark on chest.
Great comments. I wish though that I hadn’t been the curious cat. It scares me knowing stuff like this dammit! I especially agree with Todd and the last post I read.
How do we know that if this affects our power grids, that Russia or China won’t take advantage of this and hack into our United States defense systems, computers etc ???
We’re doomed anyways. This event is nothing compared to
what’s actually coming.
Goodluck to you all.
No big deal. Just another bunch of headline click bait. W have solar flares all the time and most people don’t even notice because they really do not affect much at all.
I agree with alot of what all of you are saying. My opinion is the people in charge really do only care about money,power and greed above the people. Sometimes its better not to know the catastrophes that threaten our planet and humanity because of mass histeria which would be a disaster. The people also do have a right to know and there really is no easy way to put it. Things that threaten our planet such as these solar flares, asteroids, nuclear war, etc. Then there is good old mother nature. My point is its the people in charge who allow us to know what they want us see and hear, there is really nothing we can do to stop these kind of events. Alot of us arnt even prepared…In the end its mass chaos and destruction among us all. We are stronger together than apart and it will take alot of strength and will to do so. Its time to come together and stand up for what’s right. The survival of our planet, our families, our friends, our species. I can’t believe what the world is turning into, I have to believe we can do much better. We get one life and one planet…take care of it and encourage others to do the same. Some of us need to wake up! Remember some people just want to watch the world burn.
The South Freeze of this year woke more people up than before
Wow, what lean journalism. Didn’t we all learn “who?, what?, where?, when? and why?” in like 3rd grade? Any more details on this sure would be appreciated.
Nothing will be done to prepare for or to protect our systems until a major catastrophe happens. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it always will be.
We are never going to be prepared for what our universe will do to Earth.
Generators are not very expensive anymore. If you are really worried about protecting yourself buy one, line a wooden crate with metal chicken wire. Drive a 8 ft ground rod and attach the chicken wire to the ground rod. Leave the gen unplugged from external wires. Ie this is how u keep one safe to function after the perfect solar flare. It’s still a lose lose though. If this happened and you are the only house with lights on… Hope you can defend it
Tobias’s Theory suggests the sun is merely a marshmallow atop a super nova black hole, furthermore water will help cure the problem of the space time continuum. Nevertheless solar winds are neon white so it won’t hurt the moon.. I hope I sound as smart as all u try to.
Sooo we all become superheroes? But in a world of superheroes, we are all just normal…
Someone asked why are we not preparing for a Carrington like event? Why? How about we are running around like chicken’s with our heads cut off. Social justice warrior’s with Trump mania! people are more concerned about taking down a 100 year old statue than what are we doing with our infrastructure, or how are we going to keep terrorists from all over the world from walking across our southern border, or how are we going to address inflation! Nah, nobody is worried about having the electrical grid burnt our, or our satellites getting burned out by a flair!! Haha, when everyone loses cell phone service and gps and they can’t find their way to the bathroom then they will care!!! I can’t wait! It will be the funniest thing to watch everyone have a meltdown about something they should have been pushing their politicians to address instead of running around with Trump mania.