Introduction

Solar storms are natural events that occur when high energy particles from the sun hit the earth. They take place when the sun releases energy in the form of outbursts or eruptions. Such outbursts are also called solar flares. Energy is set free and transported to                                                                                 outer space.

Abstract

The following article talks about solar storms, which are phenomena that occur throughout the year. But which occur more frequently in the time of the months of from June to November. This phenomenon is based on the release of energy from the sun through these phenomena known as "solar storms".

Theoretical framework

Solar storms contain gas and other matter and can travel at extremely high speeds. When such particles hit the Earth or any other planet with an atmosphere they cause a geomagnetic storm and a disturbance in the magnetic field that surrounds our planet. Normally such outbursts are not dangerous. They are the cause of polar lights and bright, colorful lights in the skies in the northern regions.

They may, however, endanger us in other ways. Such outbursts of the sun’s energy can cause communication problems, interfere with satellite reception or lead to incorrect GPS readings. In the past they have even shut down electric power grids. The most damaging events happened in the 19th century when solar storms started fires in North America and Europe. They caused auroras as far south as the equator. Luckily the world did not have the high technological standard we have today. Such forceful eruptions could do much more damage today.

An American investigation in 2008 showed that extreme solar storms could cause billions of dollars in damage. Several organizations around the world monitor the sun’s activity and the disturbances that occur in its atmosphere. They also have detectors that show variations in the Earth’s magnetic field.Although this is continually studied, the quantity of the thousands of joules of energy joules during a solar storm is not known with accuracy.

Solar cycles repeat themselves every 11 years. Right now the Earth is experiencing the most severe solar storm since 2003. Sky watchers in Canada and Scandinavia are already reporting sightings of more northern lights than usual. As the sun is currently becoming more active we will see more and more solar flares the next few years. However, the solar cycle we are in at the moment is relatively quiet compared to others over the last decades.

The last major problems caused by solar storms occurred in 1994 when communications satellites over Canada malfunctioned and power in many parts of the country went out for a few hours.

When solar storms pass through the earth’s atmosphere radiation levels are higher for a few days Airlines are especially worried about these outbursts of radiation because long distance flights use polar routes, an area where disruptions are most severe. During such storms there are periods when the crew cannot communicate with ground control stations. Astronauts orbiting the earth in the International Space Station may also be in danger because radiation levels are much higher than normal. Outbursts of solar energy even affect animals which are sensitive to changes in Earth’s magnetic field. During such events they lose orientation and get lost¹.

The following table shows the growth of solar storms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as there is no rough estimate in the twenty-first century.

Conclusion

Knowing the magnitude of the damages that can cause to the solar storms and taking into account that these phenomena are the cause of the polar lights between other Phenomena, one must be more careful and to treat with more care since the magnitude of the damage in a Large solar storm can be disastrous for many countries and cause the loss of billions of dollars since the destruction of satellites and other technological artifacts would be very expensive.