What is a solar storm? Internet apocalypse possibility prompts NASA spacecraft launch

News of a potential internet apocalypse due to a possible solar storm, leaving earthlings without internet for months has been making its rounds online since the ongoing month of June 2023. The report first made headlines after a 2021 research conducted by Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi of UC Irvine warned of a catastrophic solar storm occurring within the next 10 years.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) believes its Parker Solar Probe (PSP), which safely navigated through the solar winds generated close to the sun's outermost atmosphere has relayed vital clues that could help mitigate its effects including an internet apocalypse.

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How solar storms impact the Earth explained as scientists warn of a possible internet apocalypse

According to Wonderopolis, Solar Storms refer to the "atmospheric effects felt on Earth due to events that occur on the sun." These storms are caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections which emit a stream of electromagnetic field towards the Earth.

According to NASA, the solar activity appears to follow an 11-year cycle. At its peak, there could be several solar storms in a day and other times less than one in a week. A good example of the atmospheric effects observed when heightened solar activity strikes our atmosphere is the northern lights or 'Aurora' seen near the Arctic Circle.

However, they can also cause geomagnetic storms that can disrupt satellites, radio communications, the internet, and electrical power grids. According to Wonderopolis, in 2011, a powerful solar flare disrupted radio communication in southern regions of China. In 1859, a rather intense solar storm created auroras across the world. This came to be known as the 'Carrington Event.'

If a similar powerful flare were to strike the globe the effects could result in a worldwide blackout, and damage to communications systems for months. An internet apocalypse today would have devastating effects 20 times that of a catastrophic hurricane. It could hamper the production and supply chain for essentials like food, water, medications, and much more.

The PSP was launched in 2018 and has spent the last few years circumnavigating the Sun, winding closer with each loop. Talking about the significance of the probe, James Drake, a physics professor at the University of Maryland told Forbes:

"Understanding the mechanism behind the sun's wind is important for practical reasons on Earth... That’s going to affect our ability to understand how the sun releases energy and drives geomagnetic storms."

Drake along with Stuart D. Bale, a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, lead a team of researchers who are looking into solar winds. According to Syfy, they discovered streams of high-energy particles flowing out of the surface of the sun, or corona, are the origins of these winds.

Solar activity observed on the corona (Image via Getty Images)

Such details about the structure of the solar activities at the point of their creation are lost when they reach the Earth's atmosphere. Research into solar winds, and how they are generated can make us better equipped to protect ourselves against the internet apocalypse.

Scientists expect Sun's current solar storm activity to peak during 2024.