The Most Destructive Solar Storm Ever Recorded Could Strike Again – A Warning from History.
The solar storm of 1859, also known as the Carrington event, is often cited as the worst recorded solar storm in history due to its ability to cause telegraph machines to spark and fires to ignite, as well as power grid failures. However, evidence suggests that the Miyake event in 774 CE was even more severe, causing forest fires and leaving astronomers and geologists to believe it was caused by a solar storm. While conclusive evidence has not been found, a recent study has provided more support for this theory.
The data comes from a study published in the Nature Journal, where a group of Japanese researchers analyzed tree-ring data to see if this is a solar storm. Thus, this particular solar event occurred in AD 774-775. Its intensity is estimated to be ten times greater than the Carrington event. Evidence can be found in Japanese cedar trees, all of which have a significant spike in carbon 14. What’s really scary is that the researchers found that it was not an isolated event and that such storms regularly plague the Earth every 1000 years or so.
The worst solar storm in history was found inside tree rings
For years, scientists have turned to technology to search for tree rings to determine the age of major historical events. This is done by checking the contents of the tree rings and taking into account any distinguishing characteristics. But while a sudden spike in radiocarbon may indicate a cosmic event, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a solar storm. It would also have been a supernova explosion. Another study was conducted here by a team of researchers led by University of Queensland mathematician Qingyuan Zhang, Science Alert reported. “We designed a global carbon cycle to reconstruct the process over 10,000 years to gain insight into the scale and nature of events at Miyake,” explains Chang.
However, much is still unknown. For example, some of these solar storms lasted for years, while others only lasted for a short time. No connection to the sun’s activity was found either.
However, the data is enough to reveal that we haven’t seen a solar storm like this since 774 AD. If such a storm hits us now, it will cause what the scientific world calls an “internet apocalypse” and destroy all the wireless technology we have, including mobile networks, GPS, wireless communication systems, and the Internet. It can even destroy power grids and computers on Earth and cause wildfires in forests. “Based on the available data, there’s about a one percent chance we’ll see another in the next decade,” revealed astrophysicist Benjamin Pope, who is part of the team.
