It is an energetic explosion of great intensity. His research team used data collected by NASA’s Kepler space telescope.
An intense solar phenomenon could take place in the sky in a short time: It is the “superflare”an energetic explosion of great intensity that occurs in stars similar to and close to the Sun, and that can affect life in the Sun in different ways. Land.
A study recently published in the scientific journal Science revealed that This phenomenon – in which up to a thousand times more energy is released than a typical solar flare – is more common than previously thought.. The research team used data collected by the Kepler space telescope of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) between 2009 and 2013.
What is “superflare”, the phenomenon that occurs every 100 years
At that time they observed 56,450 Sun-like stars and identified 2,889 superflare events in 2,527 of them. Previously it was believed that these events occurred at intervals ranging from a thousand years to ten thousand years.but the discovery showed that they actually have a frequency of -at least- one per century.
“We were very surprised to find that these flares are so common,” he said. Valeriy Vasilyev, first author of the study and also a researcher at the MPS. The results on the periodicity of the phenomenon alerted specialists because the last major solar event recorded occurred more than 165 years ago, suggesting that there could be another one at any time.
superflare
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The effects on Earth
According to the meteorological service Meteoredthese results may have “significant” implications on Earth. Although the phenomenon would be much more intense if it came directly from the Sun, has a considerable impact on the use of technology: Reports ranging from failures in electrical networks and satellite communication systems to massive blackouts are common.
The specialists highlighted two critical phases in an event of this magnitude: eFirstly, the overload of infrastructure, in which charged particles would induce electrical currents in critical networks; and second, coronal mass ejections, in which large amounts of solar plasma and magnetic fields are released that could damage electrical transformers and underwater cables that are essential for Internet service.
The environment can also be affected. Throughout this year, Several intense solar storms (but less strong than the superflare) led to visible auroras in places with much lower latitudes than usual. Throughout history, it was observed that in cases of stronger episodes the growth rings on tree trunks and glacial ice sheets were also marked.
Within this framework, different specialists from around the world work to develop early warning systems to prevent the arrival of this type of situations and thus improve the resistance of the electrical and telecommunications infrastructure.
Source: Ambito
