Scientists have warned that a possible "internet apocalypse" could happen within the next decade. A solar storm may spur this scenario and force people to go offline for months or even years.
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Solar Storms and an Impending Internet Apocalypse
According to Paradoxon, solar storms could cripple Earth's communication networks. On average, the Sun goes through a cycle that spans eleven years. When it reaches the peak, the solar maximum, it goes on a cosmic fit. With this, the entire solar system is left to endure coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares, Yahoo! Entertainment adds.
As the Sun nears the solar maximum of cycle 25, the frequency and strength of solar flares and CMEs get ramped up. Though these do not directly pose a threat, they may cause issues for satellites or astronauts in low-Earth orbit. These could also disrupt electrical and communication systems on Earth.
NASA has highlighted infrastructure vulnerabilities and risks that could lead to an "internet apocalypse," History of Yesterday explains. With impending warnings of an internet apocalypse, it is vital to know the gravity of such an issue and what can be done to prevent it.
This internet apocalypse would not only force Earthlings to go offline and be disconnected from the digital world but also render power lines and satellites useless, Mirror UK adds.
To prevent this from happening, NASA's very own Parker Solar Probe (PSP) has gone on a novel mission wherein it journeyed through the solar wind to discover some of the Sun's inner workings.
Parker Solar Probe Digs Into Mysteries of Solar Wind
A new Nature study had described the PSP's close flyby when it entered a 13-million-mile radius from the Sun. During its comparative approach, the probe was able to pick up the solar wind's fine structure near its origin over the solar surface, Forbes reports.
Despite the harsh conditions of radiation and heat, the PSP endured and generated insights regarding the Sun's workings.
James Drake, from the University of Maryland-College Park, explains that knowing the mechanisms behind the solar wind is vital for practical reasons. This would affect current understanding regarding the Sun's release of energy and how the huge star fosters geomagnetic storms that threaten Earth's communication systems.
Armed with updated instrumentation, the PSP was able to pick up solar wind intricately and uncover vital data that gets lost as the solar wind moves out of the corona in the form of electrons and photons. Such findings helped the scientists identify a phenomenon called "supergranulation flows" inside the coronal holes. This is where magnetic fields spur.
The scientists posit that these areas are points where high-speed solar wind originated. Such holes do not directly affect the Earth. However, during the Sun's active peak in its 11-year cycle, when magnetic fields flip, such holes appear over the solar surface and expel strong solar wind bursts directly aimed toward the Earth.
Such insights will significantly help predict solar storms that could disrupt Earth's electrical grids and satellites. Yahoo! Entertainment adds that an enhanced understanding of the origins of the solar wind, their generation, and their changes as they near the planet could offer insights regarding new tools that could protect the Earth against an apocalypse that may be inevitable.
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