The sun burns the magnetic field. Could powerful solar flares set fire to the earth's magnetic field

MOSCOW, September 8 - RIA Novosti. A cloud of plasma, which was formed as a result of a powerful solar flare, has reached the earth. Now the magnetic field of the ejection is "burning" the field lines of our planet, the Laboratory of X-ray Solar Astronomy of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences (FIAN) said in a statement.

Scientist: current solar flares are a mysteryThere was a new strong flare on the Sun. Expert Sergey Bogachev, on the air of Sputnik radio, told how scientists perceive what is happening, and how such solar activity can threaten humanity.

According to scientists, the plasma cloud came to Earth's orbit about 12 hours ahead of schedule. This means that its speed exceeded the expected one and a half times.

Record activity of the Sun

The strongest burst of solar activity in the last 12 years took place on September 6-8. Several flashes of extreme brightness occurred on the surface of the celestial body. Coronal matter was emitted towards the Earth. On our planet, this phenomenon caused a strong geomagnetic storm, but so far no negative consequences no solar flares.

The first outbreak occurred on Wednesday, September 6, and became the most powerful in the last 12 years. She was assigned a score of X9.3. (The previous explosion of similar force was recorded on September 7, 2005). The sunspot where the flare occurred remained active until September 8, and it emitted three more medium (M-level) and one strong (X-level) flares. The last flash, which was as close as possible to level X in strength, occurred around 11:00 Moscow time.

The shock wave from the first outbreak reached the Earth much earlier than expected: already at midnight on September 8, a strong (fourth level on a five-point scale) geomagnetic storm began. According to forecasts by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the magnetic storm should end at 18:00 Moscow time.

Sunquake and the placebo effect

During the first flash, seismic waves propagated along the surface of the star, which scientists call a sunquake, Aleksey Struminsky, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RIA Novosti.

“What is interesting about this flare is that at the time of individual flares, a sunquake is observed, when seismic waves propagate through the Sun - they are visible in the images,” he said.

According to Struminsky, the consequences of such an outbreak should not bring any harm to health. "There are people who believe in this (the effect of solar flares on health). There are those who do not believe. If we talk about those who believe, it will affect the same way as the same flares in previous cycles ... Almost no one will notice anything ", said the scientist.

He clarified that, despite the strength of the outbreak, the operation of radio communications and satellites would be only marginally affected.

A somewhat different opinion is shared by the head of the Moscow Space Club, Ivan Moiseev. According to him, the outbreak can lead to satellite failures. Outages should not occur, but temporary equipment failures during geomagnetic storms are a common occurrence.

But Moiseev ruled out the possibility of a negative impact of outbreaks on people's health. Harmful effects are more likely to be psychological factors.

"Such facts scientific research not yet fixed. Theoretically, yes, it is possible, but practically it has not been proven. It must be understood that the placebo effect in the sensations of people who read the news about flares, as well as about sunspots, has a stronger effect on their physical and psycho-emotional state. A person worries, expects troubles - so they happen, "Moiseev believes.

All systems are working properly

Despite the alarming prospects for radio and satellite technology, there have been no reports of failures or serious malfunctions of the equipment. The first to report that solar flares did not affect control systems in any way was reported in Missile troops ah strategic.

"The most powerful geomagnetic storm caused by a solar flare did not have a significant impact on the performance of systems combat control Strategic Missile Forces.<…>The systems make it possible to exclude any influence of external sources on the combat readiness of troops. The paths for delivering orders and collecting reports of the automated command and control system of troops are formed by wire, radio and satellite communication channels and have the necessary survivability and noise immunity," the Defense Ministry said.

The department emphasized that the orders of the combat control are brought to the launchers directly, bypassing intermediate links, including in the conditions of nuclear impact and electronic suppression.

Later, the Ministry of Defense reported that there was no harmful effect on the Russian orbital group either.

"A magnetic storm caused by a solar flare did not negative impact to the Russian orbital constellation and ground-based spacecraft control systems Space Forces Russia," the Russian military department said.

"The duty forces of the ground-based automated control complex are performing communication sessions and controlling the spacecraft of the Russian orbital group in the normal mode," the Defense Ministry added.

The consequences of astronomical phenomena also did not affect the work of the largest Russian cellular operators.

"Flashes on the Sun did not affect the operation of the MTS network in any way," said Dmitry Solodovnikov, MTS press secretary.

"The Megafon network is operating normally," the operator's press service assured.

"The Beeline network is operating normally, there are no deteriorations due to a solar flare," a VimpelCom representative said.

Nor was it necessary to evacuate the international crew of the International Space Station. In the event of a threat of radiation exposure, cosmonauts and astronauts usually hide in the descent vehicle of the Soyuz spacecraft docked to the station. The Mission Control Center (MCC) reported that the radiation background on the ISS, despite new outbreaks, quickly returned to normal.

Northern lights at unprecedented southern latitudes

The fact that such solar flares can cause aurora borealis at latitudes where it usually does not occur was reported by an employee of the Department of Astronomy of the Ural federal university Pavel Skripnichenko.

“In the Urals, the aurora as such is not observed at all, because the southern latitudes are quite sufficient. Normal auroras, multicolored, which are best known, are observed to the north. But as a result of the strong activity of the Sun in the Urals, at a latitude of about 50-60 degrees, one can observe here such red flashes. That is, it is not guaranteed that they will be visible, but they, in principle, can be observed when there is high solar activity or when there is a flash, "the scientist said.

Sergey Smirnov, a senior researcher at the Pulkovo Laboratory, said that the northern lights might also be visible in St. Petersburg.

“In St. Petersburg, the northern lights may be very likely, but due to heavy cloudiness, the townspeople may not see it. For example, now the cloud cover over the city is two tiers. So it’s better to observe this phenomenon outside the city,” Smirnov said.

According to NOAA forecasts, the northern lights, provoked by powerful solar flares, will reach Moscow on Sunday night with a probability of about 50%.

Nevertheless, Vladimir Surdin, a senior researcher at the P.K. Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, believes that big cities rather poorly suited for observing the aurora. Even if it does reach Moscow, Muscovites will have little chance of observing the amazing phenomenon.

“It is unlikely, because there are clouds over Moscow, and they are unlikely to disappear in the coming nights. We will definitely not see the aurora, even if there is one. Over the city, such things are not visible even in cloudless weather, because the sky is very illuminated. such a bright thing," Surdin told RIA Novosti.

End of the Greatest Storm

After several flares of medium magnitude (but approaching the boundary of powerful flares) the activity of the Sun fell to a weak level of class C, follows from the graph of the Laboratory of Solar X-Ray Astronomy of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences.

The FIAN representative clarified that a magnetic storm of the fourth level on a five-point scale is occurring on Earth. The strength of the event is about 10 times greater than predicted. In Canada, now on the night side of the Earth, there are strong auroras at high and middle latitudes. The storm is planetary.

Scientists note that what happened is a natural result of changes in the solar corona over the past three days. During this period, as a result of the interaction of two large groups of sunspots, energy was accumulated, which was released in major outbreak. At present, the consequences of this natural phenomenon are difficult to predict with sufficient accuracy.

According to the NOAA forecast, the end of the magnetic storm on Earth is expected around 18:00 Moscow time.

On the night of September 9-10, residents of Moscow will most likely be able to observe the northern lights in the sky above the capital. The reason for this, most likely, is the most powerful class X flares on the Sun that have occurred over the past two days.

In addition to two class X flares that occurred on the morning of September 7, another super-powerful flare was recorded at 11:00 Moscow time on September 8. The Laboratory of Solar X-Ray Astronomy of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences reports that such intense solar activity has caused a magnetic storm of the fourth of five possible categories on Earth.

Leading researcher at the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation Boris Filippov, in a conversation with RT, noted that solar plasma affects the Earth's magnetic field, reducing it, but this phenomenon will not last long.

“After the flare, a cloud of plasma was ejected from the atmosphere of the Sun with magnetic field. It reached the Earth in a day and a half. Now the magnetic field of this ejection interacts with the geomagnetic field of the Earth. They are directed in different directions, antiparallel, that is, the magnetic field decreases in the place where they are in contact.<...>But this is a rather short-lived phenomenon,” he said.

Filippov noted that the duration of the magnetic storm will determine the size of the plasma cloud. At the same time, it would be wrong to talk about serious consequences for the Earth's magnetic field.

“The geomagnetic storm began when it (the Earth’s magnetic field. — RT) came into contact with the plasma cloud. How long it will last depends on the size of this cloud. It can be hours, days or two. But the geomagnetic field of the Earth, of course, will recover. You can't even say that it has greatly decreased. We are talking about percentages or even fractions of a percent. In some places it is strongly felt, and in some - not so much. Even now, our compass, as it worked in middle latitudes, for example, in Moscow, is so reliable and points to the north. Nothing terrible is happening, ”concluded the specialist.

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Among the possible effects of such a strong magnetic storm, experts cite power failures, erroneous signals on some safety devices and problems with navigation. On the spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, a surface charge may develop, and therefore they may experience orientation problems, and the degree of resistance to their atmospheric movement may increase.

The Mission Control Center reported that the radiation level at the International Space Station, despite a series of powerful outbreaks, is within acceptable limits.

“Russian and American experts have again assessed the danger to the crew. The radiation background at the station is normal. It was decided to continue work as usual, the evacuation of astronauts into the well-protected Soyuz descent capsule is not required, ”RIA Novosti quotes a representative of the center.

Recall that the X9 class solar flare, which astronomers recorded on September 6, became the most powerful in the last 12 years. Due to the fact that the sunspot, which gave rise to a flare and a possible coronal ejection, was deployed to the Earth, the impact on our planet can be maximum for this type of cosmic event. The last time an X9-class flare was observed by astronomers was in 2009.

Solar flares occur when the Sun's magnetic field, which forms dark spots on the surface of a star, twists and releases energy, overheating the star's surface. In addition to interfering with radio communications at various frequencies, class X flares can cause radiation storms in the Earth's upper atmosphere. In addition, during such flares, the Sun can eject a cloud of charged plasma, which astronomers call a coronal mass ejection.

The sunspot in the active solar region 2673 is the second largest and can accommodate seven of our planets in width and nine in height. On September 5, the same spot released a class M solar flare, which was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection directed towards the Earth.

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Aleksey Struminsky, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that a series of powerful flares caused seismic waves on the surface of the sun, which experts call a sunquake. Scientists draw Special attention on the fact that a series of class X flares occurred during the minimum cycle of solar activity in the last 11 years.

“Interestingly, during the decline phase, a powerful outbreak occurred almost in the region of the minimum, a similar situation was during the last cycle, after which there was a very prolonged minimum between the previous cycle and this one. We can start discussing how powerful flashes at the end of a cycle can affect the start of the next one. Any flash is a release of energy. Whether there is additional energy or not, this is important for the formation of processes, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words of the scientist.

The sun has not calmed down and continues to rage. According to scientists, the Sun has recorded the second of the day and the fourth powerful flare. The first two most powerful outbreaks occurred on September 6,

while the second of them was in the last 12 years.

These events on the same day caused disturbances in radio communications and GPS reception on the day side of the Earth, lasting about an hour.

Solar flares are catastrophic phenomena on the surface of the Sun caused by the reconnection (reconnection) of magnetic field lines "frozen" into the solar plasma. At some point, the extremely twisted magnetic field lines break off and reconnect in a new configuration, releasing an enormous amount of energy.

Depending on the intensity of solar flares, they are classified, and in this case we are talking about the most powerful flares - the X-class. The energy released during such flashes is equivalent to the explosions of billions of megaton hydrogen bombs.

The next outbreak, which was assigned the highest activity class - X9.3, occurred the day before, between 17.00 Moscow time and 18.00 Moscow time. Another one is already on Friday, August 8, at 11.00 Moscow time.

According to scientists, the current situation is the result of changes in the solar corona over the past three days.

The strongest solar flare recorded in the modern era occurred on November 4, 2003, and it was classified as X28 (its consequences were not so catastrophic, since the ejection was not aimed directly at the Earth).

Solar X-Ray Astronomy Laboratory/FIAN

Extreme solar flares can be accompanied by powerful ejections of matter from solar corona, the so-called coronal mass ejections. For the Earth, it can pose both a greater and lesser danger, depending on whether the release is directed directly at our planet. In any case, the effects of these emissions affect after 1-3 days. It's about about billions of tons of matter flying at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second.

This time, a huge mass of matter was just on the way to Earth. This was evidenced by data from solar coronagraphs observing the outer layers of the solar atmosphere.

As expected, the extreme activity of the Sun has already caused the strongest magnetic storm on Earth, which was assigned the fourth level on a five-point scale.

True, as scientists note, this storm turned out to be ten times stronger than previously predicted.

“A cloud of plasma from the Sun came to the orbit of our planet at about 2 am Moscow time, about 12 hours earlier than expected. This means that its speed exceeded the expected 1.5 times, and the impact on the Earth was made with more power than expected. The direction of the magnetic field of the ejection, based on the data of the ACE instrument, is unfavorable for our planet - the field is directed opposite to the earth's and is currently "burning" the Earth's field lines," explained the chief researcher of the FIAN.

The plasma ejection from yesterday's X9.3 flare reached Earth at 2:00 am Moscow time, about 12 hours ahead of schedule. This means that its speed exceeded the expected 1.55 times, and the impact on the Earth was made with more power than planned.

One of the spectacular and least harmless manifestations of solar flares has already become the aurora. According to the website Spaceweather.com, the auroras were observed in the Scandinavian countries, the phenomenon was so bright and impressive that people stopped their cars. “It was such an amazing sight that I had to stop and take some photos,” said Finnish resident Jani Ilinampa.

Jani Ylinampa/Spaceweather.com

On the same night, strong auroras were observed in Canada at high and middle latitudes. The storm is planetary in nature, experts from the Solar X-Ray Astronomy Laboratory said.

Auroras could be observed not only in Canada, but also in a number of American states - Maine, Connecticut, New York, Kentucky, Indiana and others.

This picture was taken by a photographer from the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts:

Chris Cook/Spaceweather.com

“The Northern Lights looked great tonight, reflecting off the warm waters of Cape Cod. The best view was when the Moon was low on the horizon in the south side of the sky,” the photographer said.

It is highly likely that on the night of Saturday, September 9, the auroras can be observed in the middle Russian latitudes. According to forecasts, the probability of occurrence of auroras over Moscow is 50%. However, the illumination of the city and clouds will most likely interfere with seeing them.

Despite the fact that the next “end of the world”, which was “scheduled” for December 21 last year, remained at the level of predictions and horror stories, according to many scientists, processes are currently taking place on our planet that can carry a significant danger to all life on Earth, as well as lead to its complete disappearance. One of these processes could be the loss of the Earth's magnetic field, and today's data suggests that the likelihood of such a development increases over the years.

Change the poles are coming full swing. Where it leads?

As you know, our planet has magnetic poles, due to the peculiarities of the interaction of the solid and liquid cores of the Earth. Their interaction takes place according to the principle of a core, around which a copper wire laid in coils is located. The impact of objects on each other, as you know, causes magnetic excitation and the presence of a certain magnetic field. On a planetary scale, this interaction ensures the presence of the Earth's magnetic field, which protects us from solar radiation, and is the key to the existence of life on it. At the same time, scientists argue that the violation of the interaction of these two components, which occurs periodically, and has, in general, an objective character, leads to a significant weakening of the magnetic field, or even to its complete disappearance.

On the scale of the Earth, such changes can be determined by fixing the change in magnetic poles. A comparison of the available facts may indicate the beginning of the process of changing the planet's magnetic poles. In particular, according to the professor of geology and geophysics Oxford University Conall MacNiocaille, over the past hundred years, the north magnetic pole has moved more than one and a half thousand kilometers, and in the last twenty years alone it has "run" 220 kilometers. At the same time, the main direction of drift is south. Everything suggests that the dynamics of the drift of the Earth's magnetic poles is intensifying, and the prospect of our planet losing its own magnetic "shield" is growing.

Consequences of the loss of the magnetic field

What can the loss of the Earth's magnetic field lead to? The consequences of this, as mentioned above, can be catastrophic. The fact is that even the weakening of the field in some anomalous parts of the planet has already led to various troubles. As an example, the situation of 1989 in Canada is given, when, due to the weakening of the field, the rays of solar radiation were "interrupted" to the Earth's surface. This led to the fact that the electrical networks failed, communications worked intermittently. On a global scale, the loss of the magnetic field and the impact of solar radiation will lead, first of all, to a technological collapse. Power supply systems will stop working, communication will disappear, communication systems will fail. No less destructive will be the impact on all life on Earth. Radiation will lead to exposure, which will cause diseases, mutations, and, ultimately, the extinction of mankind.

Scientists emphasize that the change of the Earth's magnetic poles occurred with an average frequency of 500,000 poles. It is quite possible that the processes of extinction of species that existed on Earth, which we know about, when from 50 to 90 percent of the earth's flora and fauna died out, were provoked by just such processes. At the same time, according to one of the hypotheses, which is supported by the analysis of the polarization of ancient volcanic crystalline rocks, the last change of poles on our planet took place approximately 780 thousand years ago. Therefore, it is quite possible that the pole drift that has already begun, which has already led to a weakening of the Earth's magnetic field by 10 percent over the past 150 years, is a harbinger of more global processes, the duration of which scientists cannot yet predict, however, the period of weakening or complete loss of the Earth's magnetic poles, may be several thousand years. Specialists continue to monitor the magnetic field, and it is quite possible that we will soon receive new data that can either calm or, on the contrary, cause great concern.

Rostislav Bely