A powerful solar flare burns out space. During the period of change of the magnetic poles of the earth, the sun will burn humanity. Look: does this somehow affect the technique?

MOSCOW, September 8 – RIA Novosti. The plasma cloud, which was formed as a result of a powerful flare on the Sun, reached the ground. Now the magnetic field of the ejection is “burning” the field lines of our planet, says the Solar X-ray Astronomy Laboratory. Physical Institute Academy of Sciences (FIAN).

Scientist: Current solar flares are a mysteryA new powerful flare occurred on the Sun. Expert Sergei Bogachev, speaking on Sputnik radio, explained how scientists perceive what is happening and how such solar activity could threaten humanity.

According to scientists, the plasma cloud arrived in Earth's orbit about 12 hours earlier than predicted. This means that its speed was one and a half times higher than expected.

Record solar activity

The strongest surge in the last 12 years solar activity took place 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 solar flares have not caused any negative consequences.

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 in which the flare occurred remained active until September 8, emitting three more moderate (level M) and one strong (level X) flare. The last outbreak, which was closest in strength to level X, occurred around 11:00 Moscow time.

The shock wave from the first flare 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 from 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 flare, seismic waves, which scientists call a sunquake, spread across the surface of the star, a leading researcher at the Institute told RIA Novosti space research RAS Alexey Struminsky.

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

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

He clarified that, despite the strength of the outbreak, there will be only a minor impact on the operation of radio communications and satellites.

The head of the Moscow Space Club, Ivan Moiseev, has a slightly different opinion. According to him, the outbreak could lead to disruptions in the operation of satellites. Failures should not occur, but temporary equipment failures during geomagnetic storms are a common phenomenon.

Here's an opportunity negative influence Moiseev ruled out any outbreaks on people's health. It is rather psychological factors that have a harmful effect.

"Such facts scientific research not yet recorded. Theoretically, yes, it is possible, but practically it has not been proven. We must understand that the placebo effect in the feelings of people reading news about flares, as well as about sunspots, has a greater impact on their physical and psycho-emotional state. A person worries, expects troubles - and 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 had no effect on control systems were Missile Forces ah strategic purpose.

“The most powerful geomagnetic storm caused by a solar flare did not have a significant impact on the performance of the combat control systems of the Strategic Missile Forces.<…>Systems eliminate any impact external sources on the combat readiness of troops. Paths for conveying orders and collecting reports automated system combat command and control systems are formed by wired, radio and satellite communication channels and have the necessary survivability and noise immunity,” the Ministry of Defense said.

The department emphasized that combat control orders are communicated to launchers directly, bypassing intermediate links, including under conditions of nuclear influence and electronic suppression.

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

"The magnetic storm caused by the solar flare had no effect negative impact on the Russian orbital constellation and ground-based spacecraft control systems Space Force Russia,” noted the Russian military department.

“The duty forces of the ground-based automated control complex carry out communication sessions and control of spacecraft of the Russian orbital constellation in normal mode,” the Ministry of Defense added.

To employ the largest Russian mobile operators consequences astronomical phenomena also had no effect.

“The solar flares did not in any way affect the operation of the MTS network,” said MTS press secretary Dmitry Solodovnikov.

“Megafon’s network is operating normally,” the operator’s press service assured.

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

There was no need 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 module of the Soyuz spacecraft docked at 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

An employee of the Department of Astronomy of the Ural State University reported that such flares on the Sun can cause northern lights at latitudes where they usually do not occur. federal university Pavel Skripnichenko.

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

Senior researcher at the Pulkovo Laboratory Sergei Smirnov said that the northern lights may also be visible in St. Petersburg.

“In St. Petersburg, there may be a high probability of the northern lights, but due to heavy cloudiness, citizens may not see them. For example, now the cloud cover over the city is two tiers. So it is better to observe this phenomenon outside the city,” Smirnov said.

According to NOAA forecasts, the northern lights, triggered by powerful solar flares, have about a 50% chance of reaching Moscow on Sunday night.

Nevertheless, Vladimir Surdin, a senior researcher at the State Astronomical Institute named after P.K. Sternberg, 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’s unlikely, since there are clouds over Moscow, and they are unlikely to disappear in the coming nights. We definitely won’t see the lights, even if there are any. Over the city, such things are not visible even in cloudless weather, because the sky is very overexposed. The aurora is not such a bright thing,” Surdin told RIA Novosti.

The end of the strongest storm

After several flares of average magnitude (but approaching the limit of powerful flares), the activity of the Sun dropped to a weak class C level, according to the graph of the Laboratory of X-ray Solar 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 magnitude of the event is approximately 10 times greater than predicted. Canada, now on the night side of the Earth, experiences strong auroras at high and mid-latitudes. The storm is planetary in nature.

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 accumulated, which was released in a major flare. Currently the consequences of this natural phenomenon 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.

MOSCOW, September 8 – RIA Novosti. The plasma cloud, which was formed as a result of a powerful flare on the Sun, reached the ground. Now the magnetic field of the ejection is “burning” the field lines of our planet, says the Laboratory of Solar X-ray Astronomy of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences (FIAN).

Scientist: Current solar flares are a mysteryA new powerful flare occurred on the Sun. Expert Sergei Bogachev, speaking on Sputnik radio, explained how scientists perceive what is happening and how such solar activity could threaten humanity.

According to scientists, the plasma cloud arrived in Earth's orbit about 12 hours earlier than predicted. This means that its speed was one and a half times higher than expected.

Record solar activity

The strongest surge in 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 solar flares have not caused any negative consequences.

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 in which the flare occurred remained active until September 8, emitting three more moderate (level M) and one strong (level X) flare. The last outbreak, which was closest in strength to level X, occurred around 11:00 Moscow time.

The shock wave from the first flare 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 from 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 flare, seismic waves, which scientists call a sunquake, propagated across the surface of the star, Alexey Struminsky, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RIA Novosti.

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

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

He clarified that, despite the strength of the outbreak, there will be only a minor impact on the operation of radio communications and satellites.

The head of the Moscow Space Club, Ivan Moiseev, has a slightly different opinion. According to him, the outbreak could lead to disruptions in the operation of satellites. Failures should not occur, but temporary equipment failures during geomagnetic storms are a common phenomenon.

But Moiseev ruled out the possibility of a negative impact of outbreaks on people’s health. It is rather psychological factors that have a harmful effect.

“Such facts have not yet been recorded by scientific research. Theoretically, yes, it is possible, but in practice it has not been proven. We must understand that the placebo effect in the feelings of people reading news about flares, as well as about sunspots, has a stronger effect on their physical and psycho-emotional state. A person is worried, expects troubles - that’s what happens,” 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 had no effect on control systems were the Strategic Missile Forces.

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

The department emphasized that combat control orders are communicated to launchers directly, bypassing intermediate links, including under conditions of nuclear influence and electronic suppression.

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

“The magnetic storm caused by the solar flare did not have a negative impact on the Russian orbital constellation and ground control systems for spacecraft of the Russian Space Forces,” the Russian military department noted.

“The duty forces of the ground-based automated control complex carry out communication sessions and control of spacecraft of the Russian orbital constellation in normal mode,” the Ministry of Defense added.

The work of the largest Russian cellular operators was also not affected by the consequences of astronomical phenomena.

“The solar flares did not in any way affect the operation of the MTS network,” said MTS press secretary Dmitry Solodovnikov.

“Megafon’s network is operating normally,” the operator’s press service assured.

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

There was no need 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 module of the Soyuz spacecraft docked at 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

Pavel Skripnichenko, a member of the Department of Astronomy at the Ural Federal University, reported that such solar flares can cause northern lights at latitudes where they usually do not occur.

“In the Urals, in general, aurora as such is not observed, because the latitudes are quite southern. Normal auroras, multicolored, which are best known, are observed to the north. But as a result of strong solar activity in the Urals, at a latitude of about 50-60 degrees, they can be observed 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 flare,” the scientist said.

Senior researcher at the Pulkovo Laboratory Sergei Smirnov said that the northern lights may also be visible in St. Petersburg.

“In St. Petersburg, there may be a high probability of the northern lights, but due to heavy cloudiness, citizens may not see them. For example, now the cloud cover over the city is two tiers. So it is better to observe this phenomenon outside the city,” Smirnov said.

According to NOAA forecasts, the northern lights, triggered by powerful solar flares, have about a 50% chance of reaching Moscow on Sunday night.

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

“It’s unlikely, since there are clouds over Moscow, and they are unlikely to disappear in the coming nights. We definitely won’t see the lights, even if there are any. Over the city, such things are not visible even in cloudless weather, because the sky is very overexposed. The aurora is not such a bright thing,” Surdin told RIA Novosti.

The end of the strongest storm

After several flares of average magnitude (but approaching the limit of powerful flares), the activity of the Sun dropped to a weak class C level, according to the graph of the Laboratory of X-ray Solar 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 magnitude of the event is approximately 10 times greater than predicted. Canada, now on the night side of the Earth, experiences strong auroras at high and mid-latitudes. The storm is planetary in nature.

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 accumulated, which was released in a major flare. Currently, 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.

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

In addition to the two X-class 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 X-ray Solar Astronomy of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences reports that such intense solar activity 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 with a magnetic field was ejected from the solar atmosphere. It took one and a half days to reach the Earth. Now the magnetic field of this emission interacts with geomagnetic field Earth. They are directed in different directions, antiparallel, that is, the magnetic field decreases in the place where they contact.<...>But this is a fairly short-term phenomenon,” he said.

Filippov noted that the duration of the magnetic storm will be determined by the size of the plasma cloud. At the same time, talk about serious consequences for magnetic field Earth would be wrong.

“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 could be hours, a day or two. But the Earth's geomagnetic field will, of course, be restored. One cannot even say that it has decreased very much. We are talking about percentages or even fractions of percentages. In some places this is strongly felt, but in others not so much. Even now, our compass works in mid-latitudes, for example in Moscow, and reliably points north. Nothing bad is happening,” the specialist concluded.

• Reuters

Among the possible effects of such a strong magnetic storm, experts name failures in the voltage of power systems, erroneous signals on some safety devices and problems with navigation. On spacecraft In low-Earth orbit, a surface charge may form, which may cause them to experience orientation problems and increase the degree of resistance to atmospheric movement.

The Mission Control Center reported that the radiation level on the International Space Station, despite a series of powerful flares, is within acceptable values.

“Russian and American specialists have again assessed the danger to the crew. Radiation background normal at the station. A decision was made to continue work as usual; there is no need to evacuate the cosmonauts into the well-protected Soyuz descent capsule,” RIA Novosti quotes a message from a center representative.

Let us recall that the X9 class solar flare, which astronomers recorded on September 6, became the most powerful in the last 12 years. Because of sunspot, which gave rise to a flare and a possible coronal ejection, was turned towards the Earth, the impact on our planet can be maximum for this type of cosmic event. Last time Astronomers could observe an X9 class flare 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 surface of the star. In addition to interference with radio communications at various frequencies, class X flares can cause radiation storms in the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, during such flares the Sun can eject a cloud of charged plasma, which astronomers call a coronal mass ejection.

The spot in 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 an M-class solar flare, which was accompanied by a coronal ejection directed towards the Earth.

• Reuters

Leading researcher at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexey Struminsky, said that a series of powerful flares caused seismic waves on the surface of the star, which experts call a sunquake. Scientists pay special attention to the fact that a series of X-class flares occurred during the minimum cycle of solar activity over the past 11 years.

“What’s interesting is that during the decline phase, almost in the area of ​​the minimum, a powerful outbreak occurred; a similar situation occurred 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 beginning of the next. Any outbreak is a release of energy. Whether there is additional energy or not, this is important for the formation of processes,” RIA Novosti quotes the scientist as saying.