The period of the highest solar intensity is said to hit somewhere around 2013, however, It could happen any day now. The Sun has be very quiet for the past several years and that is just an indication of the calming before the storm.
Richard Fisher, who is head of the Heliophysics Division at NASA is worried, saying:
"The sun is waking up from a deep slumber, and in the next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity. At the same time, our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms. The intersection of these two issues is what we're getting together to discuss."
The Space Weather Enterprise Forum at the National Press Club held a meeting in Washington DC on June 8th to discuss the impact that these solar storms may cause.
The increase in solar activity is a serous cause for concern. If the earth was hit with excessive solar radiation this could mean the end for many of the technology we rely on for safety and survival. Were talking about electronic based Smart power grids, GPS, airplanes, air travel, emergency radio, satellites, phones, computers, that can all be destroyed from intense solar activity.
Richard Fisher said this in an interview by the Daily Telegraph:
"We know it is coming but we don’t know how bad it is going to be. It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car navigation's, air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is electronic. It will cause major problems for the world."
What can we do about it?
I know it kinda sounds like the end of the world, however, there are things we can do. For example, if we can get proper warnings and forecasting of the storms; then we can put satellites in what they call "safe mode" and pray that it doesn't get fried. Turning off electronic devices and removing the batteries may also prevent damage. Power companies may need to even disconnect transformers to prevent the whole grid from going down.
So I guess these are some of the things we can do to prevent problems, though, if we don't get the proper forecasting in place; we will all get caught in the storm.
Solar storms are nothing new. The Earth has been hit many times before. Except when those storms hit; the world didn't run on electronics. We are in for one wild ride!
What do you think is going to happen?
