This paper will talk about Solar Flares. It will describe what a solar flare is, how they occur and how it affects us here on earth. It will also give examples of how solar flares affect our technology in today's world and what kind of research is currently being done and precautions we are taking to try and protect ourselves when these unpredictable cosmic events occur.
When we consider the many ways that our computer systems can fall under attack in today's world it is easy to think of the most common attacks we face everyday such as Computer Viruses and hacker attacks. But one type of attack exists out there that most people don't even know about; Solar flares. The first solar flare that was ever recorded occurred on September 1, 1859 which was documented by two scientists, Richard C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson. Solar Flares can wreck havoc on satellites, radio communications and airplanes. Although not much can be done to defend against these cosmic events, scientists are trying to understand these events better and how they affect us here on earth.
A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in twisted magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released. Flares produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays and gamma rays. [1] Another definition of a solar flare is a violent eruption that explodes from a star's photosphere with energies equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. Solar flares from the sun send out streams of highly energetic solar wind that can present a radiation hazard to spacecraft outside of the planetary magnetospheres and can disrupt radio signals on earth. [2] Solar flares are the most violent events on the surface of the sun. Most solar flares last only a few minutes but can release energies that can be equivalent to millions of hydrogen bombs. Solar Flares are most common during sunspot maximum. And, it can only take a very short amount of time for the released energies from solar flares to reach earth and cause damage.
Scientists classify solar flares into 3 categories. There can be X-Class, M-Class and C-Class flares.
X-Class flares - These flares are very large. They are major events that can set off long-lasting radiation storms and planet-wide radio blackouts.
M-Class Flares - They flares are medium sized. These cause brief radio blackouts, which affect the polar regions of the earth.
C-Class Flares - These flares are the smallest of the three classes and have few noticeable consequences here on earth.
Solar Flares can cause a lot of damage to a lot of today's technologies such as satellites and radio communications. They can also cause damage to airplanes and airplane pilots.
Solar flares produce electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can reach the earth within 8 minutes. The main rays that are most harmful are x-rays and gamma-rays since they have the most energy. Solar flares also have coronal mass ejections (CME's) that result in the ejection of highly energetic ions, electrons and protons. Solar Flares can cause a lot of serious problems for airline pilots due to these kinds of radiation. Normally the effects of this radiation could be very harmful to humans but fortunately we have the earth' s magnetic field and atmosphere protecting us. The magnetic field protects all of us on earth from most of these charged particles. The only problem is that there is a "hole" in the magnetic field. These holes are at the north and south poles. The closer the pilots fly near the poles the more they are exposed to these charged particles. If the charged particles hit the electrical systems of the airplanes, they could cause many disruptions. This is because electric systems are very small, they are almost built one atom at a time, and everything has to be at the right place for them to work. But if a high energy proton for example hits one of these circuits, it can cause the displacement of some atoms, and therefore the malfunctioning of the electric system. [3] The key is how high the plane flies. The higher the planes fly the stronger the effects of the particles will be.
Solar Flares can affect our banking systems, our TV's and cell phones, all the luxuries of life. [4] It can also damage satellites beyond repair. Currently, there are hundreds of satellites with some sort of backup built in to try and protect against this. Some satellites can be put into a sort of "sleep mode" during the times when electromagnetic activity reaches its peak to protect themselves from the harmful rays.
Geomagnetic Induced Currents (GIC's) can cause a lot of problems for us here on earth as well. Geomagnetic effects from solar flares occur when the flare accelerates waves of material and radiation energy into interplanetary space away from the sun and toward the earth. [5] These "solar winds" travel 93 million miles to get to earth where they can impact earth's magnetic field. Once there, the earth's magnetic field undergoes periods of fluctuations. These influctuations can induce electric currents within conductive material on or near the earth's surface - e.g., ocean salt water, mineral ore and soil, and long utility transmission lines in areas where the ground soil is rocky and highly resistive to current flow. [5] These events are known as geomagnetic disturbances.
GIC's are especially bad for utility transmission lines. Currently there are approximately 500,000 miles of bulk transmissions lines. Electric power systems can becomes exposed to the effects of GIC's through the grounded neutrals of wye connected transformers at the ends of long transmission lines. The low frequencies of GIC's can saturate the transmission transformer's steel core. When this happens, the transformers are likely to overheat. It can also increase the inductive VAR's (Volt-Amperes Reactive) power which can result in a high likelihood of leakage flux and excessive localized heating. Also, when a transformer saturates, it becomes a source of harmonics. High levels of harmonics can overload capacitors and interfere with the operation of power system protective relays. In these protective systems, geomagnetic disturbances can cause failure to operate, false operation and slower than desired operations.
Many of our Satellites could have a lot of trouble functioning and could also wind up spinning out of orbit. Many of our communications could also be affected. Signals to televisions, pagers, wireless telephones and even GPS systems can be blocked. GIC's that can occur in power transmission lines especially in susceptible areas like the North Eastern United States could result in wide area electric power blackouts. Large utility transformers could also be permanently damaged. For utilities, any power interruptions due to solar storms will put pressure on the remaining grid [5]
A solar wind is a stream of particles (mostly high energy protons) which are ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. [6] Solar winds are energy that is released from solar flares. When the solar winds reach earth, some of the high energy particles are able to penetrate the earth's ionosphere (a layer of the earth's atmosphere). This is critical because the ionosphere helps to reflect radio waves back down to the earth's surface. Solar winds have caused damage to many satellites. The high energy particles that come from solar winds have passed through these satellites and have damaged the sensitive electronics that are onboard.
Since the sun usually follows an 11 year cycle of sunspot activity, solar flares do not happen to often. But when they do, they can cause some major damage. Many of the things we count on that are critical for our survival can be affected.
In 1979, the Skylab space station prematurely re-entered earth's atmosphere due to a malfunction caused by increased solar activity. [7] In 1989, Utility-owned electrical equipment in Virginia, the Northeast and Canada was damaged by geomagnetic disturbances. The storm overloaded a part of the power grid which caused a blackout to cascade throughout the system. As a result, 6 million people were left without power. In 1998, a solar storm was responsible for bringing down the Galaxy 4 satellite which temporarily stopped 45 million electronic pagers and news transmissions.
The last peak of activity took place in 2000 but recently there has been a lot of solar activity. The most recent Solar Flares to occur were on October 22, 2003 and October 28, 2003. The outburst on October 28th was classified as an X17.2 flare which is the third largest on record. The largest flare on record, one of two known X20's, occurred on April 2, 2001, but was not directed at earth. [8] If you recall, the X-class flares are the biggest and most dangerous of the three classes and can cause a lot of trouble for us here on earth.
On the brighter side, no pun intended, there is a nicer side effect to solar activity. It's called the Northern and Southern lights. When the high energy solar winds interact with the earth's magnetic field it causes an increase in night displays of the northern and southern lights. Northern lights occur as a result of solar particles colliding with the gases in the earth's atmosphere. [9] The 11-year sunspot cycle (which was at maximum in 2000-2001) determines the magnitude of each display. [10] These lights are more visible in late spring and early autumn.
Currently, Solar Flares are impossible to predict and the most number that can occur in any given year would only be a few. During periods when solar activity is at its highest, the sun's magnetic field becomes particularly disturbed, which in turn results in the appearance of many sunspots on its surface. The largest solar flares, which release their energy for several hours, are inherent in the most complex groups of sunspots. More frequent during peak solar activity cycles, solar flares can nevertheless occur at any time. An observation of the sunspots will point to a solar flare a few minutes before it occurs, but its intensity will be impossible to predict. [11]
Although Solar Flares are not predictable, a lot of research is being done to study these sizeable events. In June of 2000, scientists at the Catholic University of America had announced a breakthrough in trying to predict Solar Storms. The Study's lead author, Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy, used data from a small armada of solar-observing spacecraft to determine how much solar wind speeds up or slows down Cornial Mass Ejections (CME's) from their initial velocity at the sun. [12] By estimating the effects of solar winds on a CME, the team of scientists can then measure the ejection's velocity and try and forecast when it might arrive here on earth.
Another way that Solar Flares are being researched is through the Space Environment Center in Boulder Colorado. The Space Center collects data from many different sources such as magnetometers and ground and orbiting solar telescopes. Once activity is detected, the warnings are then posted on the internet and also through direct contact. Companies that operate power systems, pipelines and sensitive systems rely on the Space Center to keep them up to date.
Solar flares are completely out of our control but nevertheless need to be studied further and understood. In recent years, safeguards have been developed by satellites and utility operators that can help minimize the damage caused from solar flares. It's scary to think what kind of problems we can have if our technology fails us for long periods of time due problems caused by solar flares. In the case of the blackout in 1989 where 6 million people were affected, if the power stood off for many days, many people could have died from things such as life support systems failures or lack of heat in areas that could have had freezing temperatures. Much research is being done to try to predict and defend against these natural wonders but we clearly have along way to go. Perhaps, as our technology gets more advanced new ways will be discovered to protect ourselves and the world we live in from the effects of solar flares.
[1] The classification of X-ray Solar Flares, Available at,
[2] Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, Available at,
[3] Saintonge, Amelie (October 2002) How do solar flares affect airline
pilots? Available at,
[4] Walton, Marsha, (October 2003) Solar Burst could scramble phones,
power
lines. Available at
[5] Behrens, Ron, Trouble in the Sky! Solar Activity May Cause Problems
for
Utilities, Available at
[6] Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, Available at
[7] Sunspots and the Solar Max, Available at
[8] Tobin, Kate, (October 2003) Sun erupts in biggest storm in years,
Earth
in path of solar-ejected cloud, Available at
[9] What are Northern Lights, Available at
[10] Curtis, Jan, Home of the Northern lights, Available at,
[11] Can Solar Flares be predicted?, Available at
This paper will talk about Solar Flares. It will describe what a solar
flare
is, how they occur and how it affects us here on earth. It will also give
examples of how solar flares affect our technology in today's world and
what
kind of research is currently being done and precautions we are taking to
try
and protect ourselves when these unpredictable cosmic events occur.
When we consider the many ways that our computer systems can fall under
attack in today's world it is easy to think of the most common attacks we
face everyday such as Computer Viruses and hacker attacks. But one type of
attack exists out there that most people don't even know about; Solar
flares.
The first solar flare that was ever recorded occurred on September 1, 1859
which was documented by two scientists, Richard C. Carrington and Richard
Hodgson. Solar Flares can wreck havoc on satellites, radio communications
and
airplanes. Although not much can be done to defend against these cosmic
events, scientists are trying to understand these events better and how
they
affect us here on earth.
A solar flare is an explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored
in
twisted magnetic fields (usually above sunspots) is suddenly released.
Flares
produce a burst of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from
radio
waves to x-rays and gamma rays. [1] Another definition of a solar flare is
a
violent eruption that explodes from a star's photosphere with energies
equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. Solar flares from the
sun
send out streams of highly energetic solar wind that can present a
radiation
hazard to spacecraft outside of the planetary magnetospheres and can
disrupt
radio signals on earth. [2] Solar flares are the most violent events on
the
surface of the sun. Most solar flares last only a few minutes but can
release
energies that can be equivalent to millions of hydrogen bombs. Solar
Flares
are most common during sunspot maximum. And, it can only take a very short
amount of time for the released energies from solar flares to reach earth
and
cause damage.
Scientists classify solar flares into 3 categories. There can be X-Class,
M-Class and C-Class flares.
X-Class flares - These flares are very large. They are major events that
can
set off long-lasting radiation storms and planet-wide radio blackouts.
M-Class Flares - They flares are medium sized. These cause brief radio
blackouts, which affect the polar regions of the earth.
C-Class Flares - These flares are the smallest of the three classes and
have
few noticeable consequences here on earth.
Solar Flares can cause a lot of damage to a lot of today's technologies
such
as satellites and radio communications. They can also cause damage to
airplanes and airplane pilots.
Solar flares produce electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can reach
the
earth within 8 minutes. The main rays that are most harmful are x-rays and
gamma-rays since they have the most energy. Solar flares also have coronal
mass ejections (CME's) that result in the ejection of highly energetic
ions,
electrons and protons. Solar Flares can cause a lot of serious problems
for
airline pilots due to these kinds of radiation. Normally the effects of
this
radiation could be very harmful to humans but fortunately we have the
earth'
s
magnetic field and atmosphere protecting us. The magnetic field protects
all
of us on earth from most of these charged particles. The only problem is
that
there is a "hole" in the magnetic field. These holes are at the north and
south poles. The closer the pilots fly near the poles the more they are
exposed to these charged particles. If the charged particles hit the
electrical systems of the airplanes, they could cause many disruptions.
This
is because electric systems are very small, they are almost built one atom
at
a time, and everything has to be at the right place for them to work. But
if
a high energy proton for example hits one of these circuits, it can cause
the
displacement of some atoms, and therefore the malfunctioning of the
electric
system. [3] The key is how high the plane flies. The higher the planes fly
the stronger the effects of the particles will be.
Solar Flares can affect our banking systems, our TV's and cell phones, all
the luxuries of life. [4] It can also damage satellites beyond repair.
Currently, there are hundreds of satellites with some sort of backup built
in
to try and protect against this. Some satellites can be put into a sort of
"sleep mode" during the times when electromagnetic activity reaches its
peak
to protect themselves from the harmful rays.
Geomagnetic Induced Currents (GIC's) can cause a lot of problems for us
here
on earth as well. Geomagnetic effects from solar flares occur when the
flare
accelerates waves of material and radiation energy into interplanetary
space
away from the sun and toward the earth. [5] These "solar winds" travel 93
million miles to get to earth where they can impact earth's magnetic
field.
Once there, the earth's magnetic field undergoes periods of fluctuations.
These influctuations can induce electric currents within conductive
material
on or near the earth's surface - e.g., ocean salt water, mineral ore and
soil, and long utility transmission lines in areas where the ground soil
is
rocky and highly resistive to current flow. [5] These events are known as
geomagnetic disturbances.
GIC's are especially bad for utility transmission lines. Currently there
are
approximately 500,000 miles of bulk transmissions lines. Electric power
systems can becomes exposed to the effects of GIC's through the grounded
neutrals of wye connected transformers at the ends of long transmission
lines. The low frequencies of GIC's can saturate the transmission
transformer's steel core. When this happens, the transformers are likely
to
overheat. It can also increase the inductive VAR's (Volt-Amperes Reactive)
power which can result in a high likelihood of leakage flux and excessive
localized heating. Also, when a transformer saturates, it becomes a source
of
harmonics. High levels of harmonics can overload capacitors and interfere
with the operation of power system protective relays. In these protective
systems, geomagnetic disturbances can cause failure to operate, false
operation and slower than desired operations.
Many of our Satellites could have a lot of trouble functioning and could
also
wind up spinning out of orbit. Many of our communications could also be
affected. Signals to televisions, pagers, wireless telephones and even GPS
systems can be blocked. GIC's that can occur in power transmission lines
especially in susceptible areas like the North Eastern United States could
result in wide area electric power blackouts. Large utility transformers
could also be permanently damaged. For utilities, any power interruptions
due
to solar storms will put pressure on the remaining grid [5]
A solar wind is a stream of particles (mostly high energy protons) which
are
ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. [6] Solar winds are energy
that
is released from solar flares. When the solar winds reach earth, some of
the
high energy particles are able to penetrate the earth's ionosphere (a
layer
of the earth's atmosphere). This is critical because the ionosphere helps
to
reflect radio waves back down to the earth's surface. Solar winds have
caused
damage to many satellites. The high energy particles that come from solar
winds have passed through these satellites and have damaged the sensitive
electronics that are onboard.
Since the sun usually follows an 11 year cycle of sunspot activity, solar
flares do not happen to often. But when they do, they can cause some major
damage. Many of the things we count on that are critical for our survival
can
be affected.
In 1979, the Skylab space station prematurely re-entered earth's
atmosphere
due to a malfunction caused by increased solar activity. [7] In 1989,
Utility-owned electrical equipment in Virginia, the Northeast and Canada
was
damaged by geomagnetic disturbances. The storm overloaded a part of the
power
grid which caused a blackout to cascade throughout the system. As a
result,
6
million people were left without power. In 1998, a solar storm was
responsible for bringing down the Galaxy 4 satellite which temporarily
stopped 45 million electronic pagers and news transmissions.
The last peak of activity took place in 2000 but recently there has been a
lot of solar activity. The most recent Solar Flares to occur were on
October
22, 2003 and October 28, 2003. The outburst on October 28th was
classified
as an X17.2 flare which is the third largest on record. The largest flare
on
record, one of two known X20's, occurred on April 2, 2001, but was not
directed at earth. [8] If you recall, the X-class flares are the biggest
and
most dangerous of the three classes and can cause a lot of trouble for us
here on earth.
On the brighter side, no pun intended, there is a nicer side effect to
solar
activity. It's called the Northern and Southern lights. When the high
energy
solar winds interact with the earth's magnetic field it causes an increase
in
night displays of the northern and southern lights. Northern lights occur
as
a result of solar particles colliding with the gases in the earth's
atmosphere. [9] The 11-year sunspot cycle (which was at maximum in
2000-2001)
determines the magnitude of each display. [10] These lights are more
visible
in late spring and early autumn.
Currently, Solar Flares are impossible to predict and the most number that
can occur in any given year would only be a few. During periods when solar
activity is at its highest, the sun's magnetic field becomes particularly
disturbed, which in turn results in the appearance of many sunspots on its
surface. The largest solar flares, which release their energy for several
hours, are inherent in the most complex groups of sunspots. More frequent
during peak solar activity cycles, solar flares can nevertheless occur at
any
time. An observation of the sunspots will point to a solar flare a few
minutes before it occurs, but its intensity will be impossible to predict.
[11]
Although Solar Flares are not predictable, a lot of research is being done
to
study these sizeable events. In June of 2000, scientists at the Catholic
University of America had announced a breakthrough in trying to predict
Solar
Storms. The Study's lead author, Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy, used data from a
small armada of solar-observing spacecraft to determine how much solar
wind
speeds up or slows down Cornial Mass Ejections (CME's) from their initial
velocity at the sun. [12] By estimating the effects of solar winds on a
CME,
the team of scientists can then measure the ejection's velocity and try
and
forecast when it might arrive here on earth.
Another way that Solar Flares are being researched is through the Space
Environment Center in Boulder Colorado. The Space Center collects data
from
many different sources such as magnetometers and ground and orbiting solar
telescopes. Once activity is detected, the warnings are then posted on the
internet and also through direct contact. Companies that operate power
systems, pipelines and sensitive systems rely on the Space Center to keep
them up to date.
Solar flares are completely out of our control but nevertheless need to be
studied further and understood. In recent years, safeguards have been
developed by satellites and utility operators that can help minimize the
damage caused from solar flares. It's scary to think what kind of problems
we
can have if our technology fails us for long periods of time due problems
caused by solar flares. In the case of the blackout in 1989 where 6
million
people were affected, if the power stood off for many days, many people
could
have died from things such as life support systems failures or lack of
heat
in areas that could have had freezing temperatures. Much research is being
done to try to predict and defend against these natural wonders but we
clearly have along way to go. Perhaps, as our technology gets more
advanced
new ways will be discovered to protect ourselves and the world we live in
from the effects of solar flares.
[1] The classification of X-ray Solar Flares, Available at,
[2] Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, Available at,
[3] Saintonge, Amelie (October 2002) How do solar flares affect airline
pilots? Available at,
[4] Walton, Marsha, (October 2003) Solar Burst could scramble phones,
power
lines. Available at
[5] Behrens, Ron, Trouble in the Sky! Solar Activity May Cause Problems
for
Utilities, Available at
[6] Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, Available at
[7] Sunspots and the Solar Max, Available at
[8] Tobin, Kate, (October 2003) Sun erupts in biggest storm in years,
Earth
in path of solar-ejected cloud, Available at
[9] What are Northern Lights, Available at
[10] Curtis, Jan, Home of the Northern lights, Available at,
[11] Can Solar Flares be predicted?, Available at
[12] Bridges, Andrew, (June 2000) Breakthrough on Predicting Solar Storms,
Available at
Abstract
Introduction
What is a Solar Flare?
Classes of Solar Flares
Effects on Technology caused by Solar Flares
GIC's and their effects on Technology
Solar Wind
Cases of Solar Flares
What kind of research is being done?
Further Work, Summary and Conclusions
References: