Carrington’s event in 1859 destroyed the telegraph. The next will destroy the Internet, GPS and power grid. But there's a way out.
Scientists have proposed to protect the Earth from strong solar storms using satellites that will release gas near the boundary of the planet’s magnetic shield. The idea is called StormWall. According to researchers from Boston University and the University of Michigan, such a system will be able to temporarily strengthen the protection of the Earth and weaken a powerful geomagnetic storm by more than 50%.
Solar activity is not limited to beautiful auroras. Outbreaks and emissions of matter from the Sun carry radiation, charged particles and magnetic fields. When this stream collides with the Earth’s magnetosphere, it can disrupt radio communication, shoot down GPS, damage satellites, and create currents in power lines. For modern infrastructure, a strong geomagnetic storm is dangerous at least a major natural disaster.
The most famous example is Carrington's 1859 event. Then the solar storm disabled the telegraph lines in North America and Europe. In the 19th century, damage was limited by telegraph. Today, a similar strike would have come to satellites, power grids, navigation, communications and financial systems that depend on the exact time of satellites. Estimates for US power grids reach $ 2.4-3.4 trillion damage.
StormWall offers not only to warn about space weather in advance, but to intervene in the process before hitting the Earth. The system should consist of six satellites in geosynchronous orbit, about 35 000 km from the planet. The devices will carry containers with a substance for release into the magnetosphere. As options are considered lithium, barium or sodium.
After ejection, solar radiation will quickly turn the gas into a plasma, that is, a cloud of charged particles. This cloud should strengthen the natural protection of the Earth. The planet already has a similar mechanism: with the disturbance of the magnetic field, part of the plasma from the upper layers of the atmosphere goes towards the Sun and slows down the magnetic reconnection. This is the name of the process in which the magnetic fields of the Sun and the Earth are rebuilt, opening the path of solar storm energy to the magnetosphere.
StormWall should dramatically enhance this natural effect. Artificial plasma in the day side of the magnetosphere will add mass to the region where the solar stream transmits energy to the Earth. In modeling, such a release forced part of the energy to bypass the planet and reduced the power of a geomagnetic storm. Researchers call this approach an artificial load of mass, but in the sense of a time-based plasma barrier.
Calculations show that a noticeable effect will require about 400 tons of gas. The cloud needs to be created before the arrival of a solar storm, so the system will need accurate forecasts of space weather. But protection should not remain in near-Earth space for a long time: the plasma is scattered in a few hours, and according to the authors of the project, the magnetosphere flushes the ejected material in about six hours.
The launch of such a system will be complex and expensive. But the authors consider the task technically achievable against the background of the emergence of heavy missiles of the new generation, including the Starship and the Chinese Long March 9. According to their calculations, six launches could have withdrawn the full group in less than two months. At the same time, the system is disposable: after the release of the material, the satellites will no longer be able to repeat the protective maneuver without replenishment of reserves.
The idea has serious nuances. StormWall will work only with a fairly early and accurate fire warning. You will also need international consent, because the system temporarily changes the near-Earth environment, and the effect will affect not one country and not one group of satellites. Scientists also point to possible side effects, including electromagnetic waves, which may occur during ionization of the emitted substance.
The next step is to clarify the chemistry of the ejected substances, check more economical schemes for the release of plasma and find orbits where less material will be required to protect.
Scientists have proposed to protect the Earth from strong solar storms using satellites that will release gas near the boundary of the planet’s magnetic shield. The idea is called StormWall. According to researchers from Boston University and the University of Michigan, such a system will be able to temporarily strengthen the protection of the Earth and weaken a powerful geomagnetic storm by more than 50%.
Solar activity is not limited to beautiful auroras. Outbreaks and emissions of matter from the Sun carry radiation, charged particles and magnetic fields. When this stream collides with the Earth’s magnetosphere, it can disrupt radio communication, shoot down GPS, damage satellites, and create currents in power lines. For modern infrastructure, a strong geomagnetic storm is dangerous at least a major natural disaster.
The most famous example is Carrington's 1859 event. Then the solar storm disabled the telegraph lines in North America and Europe. In the 19th century, damage was limited by telegraph. Today, a similar strike would have come to satellites, power grids, navigation, communications and financial systems that depend on the exact time of satellites. Estimates for US power grids reach $ 2.4-3.4 trillion damage.
StormWall offers not only to warn about space weather in advance, but to intervene in the process before hitting the Earth. The system should consist of six satellites in geosynchronous orbit, about 35 000 km from the planet. The devices will carry containers with a substance for release into the magnetosphere. As options are considered lithium, barium or sodium.
After ejection, solar radiation will quickly turn the gas into a plasma, that is, a cloud of charged particles. This cloud should strengthen the natural protection of the Earth. The planet already has a similar mechanism: with the disturbance of the magnetic field, part of the plasma from the upper layers of the atmosphere goes towards the Sun and slows down the magnetic reconnection. This is the name of the process in which the magnetic fields of the Sun and the Earth are rebuilt, opening the path of solar storm energy to the magnetosphere.
StormWall should dramatically enhance this natural effect. Artificial plasma in the day side of the magnetosphere will add mass to the region where the solar stream transmits energy to the Earth. In modeling, such a release forced part of the energy to bypass the planet and reduced the power of a geomagnetic storm. Researchers call this approach an artificial load of mass, but in the sense of a time-based plasma barrier.
Calculations show that a noticeable effect will require about 400 tons of gas. The cloud needs to be created before the arrival of a solar storm, so the system will need accurate forecasts of space weather. But protection should not remain in near-Earth space for a long time: the plasma is scattered in a few hours, and according to the authors of the project, the magnetosphere flushes the ejected material in about six hours.
The launch of such a system will be complex and expensive. But the authors consider the task technically achievable against the background of the emergence of heavy missiles of the new generation, including the Starship and the Chinese Long March 9. According to their calculations, six launches could have withdrawn the full group in less than two months. At the same time, the system is disposable: after the release of the material, the satellites will no longer be able to repeat the protective maneuver without replenishment of reserves.
The idea has serious nuances. StormWall will work only with a fairly early and accurate fire warning. You will also need international consent, because the system temporarily changes the near-Earth environment, and the effect will affect not one country and not one group of satellites. Scientists also point to possible side effects, including electromagnetic waves, which may occur during ionization of the emitted substance.
The next step is to clarify the chemistry of the ejected substances, check more economical schemes for the release of plasma and find orbits where less material will be required to protect.
