“Weather is not limited to the clouds, wind, extremes of
heat and cold and precipitation systems that we experience on Earth. The
broiling surface of the sun generates its own weather, or space weather,
frequently unleashing waves of plasma that bombard the Earth’s atmosphere.” So
began a recent, syndicated Washington Post article.
The
White House is worried that an extreme solar storm could literally jeopardize
the nation’s vitality and security. The worst documented solar storm to hit
Earth, known as the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859, causing global
telegraph lines to spark, actually setting fire to some telegraph offices
according to NASA. Because of our expansive modern power grid and vast, vital
telecommunications network, a similar event occurring today could produce a
truly devastating economic impact exceeding $2 trillion, 20 times the cost of Hurricane Katrina, according to a
study by the National Academy of Sciences. Worse yet, say the experts, this
event could not be blamed on George
W. Bush.
It is
precisely for this reason that these storms are so hard for scientists to come
to grips with. These plasma eruptions, solar flares, or solar storms cannot
even be blamed on mankind in general, completely stymieing expert’s attempts to
explain them.
The sun
lies relatively dormant for long periods of time and then, seemingly out of
nowhere, explodes into furious bursts of activity. What can account for these
extremes, this galactic climate change, if not us?
No comments:
Post a Comment