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An international research team has published a study discussing the possibility and consequences of a 'superflare' erupting from our parent star If a superflare erupted from the Sun , experts have predicted it will have a "devastating" effect on the Earth. It could break down radio communication, damage power supplies across the planet and threaten the stability of our atmosphere. And, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications , the possibility is not as far-fetched as scientists first thought. "We certainly did not expect to find superflare stars with magnetic fields as weak as the magnetic...

Explanation: One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. In 2011, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence erupting from the surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the above time lapse video covering 90 minutes, where a new frame was taken every 24 seconds. The scale of the prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas. A solar prominence is channeled and sometimes held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a...

Explanation: What's happening to our Sun? Another Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)! The Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft has imaged many erupting filaments lifting off the active solar surface and blasting enormous bubbles of magnetic plasma into space. Direct light from the sun is blocked in the inner part of the featured image, taken in 2002, and replaced by a simultaneous image of the Sun in ultraviolet light. The field of view extends over two million kilometers from the solar surface. While hints of these explosive events, called coronal mass ejections or CMEs, were discovered by spacecraft in the early 70s, this dramatic...

Did An 8th Century Gamma Ray Burst Irradiate Earth?Science DailyJanuary 21,2013 A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research led by astronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph NeuhÓ“user. The two scientists, based at the Astrophysics Institute of the University of Jena in Germany, publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 2012 scientist Fusa Miyake announced the detection of high levels of the isotope Carbon-14 and Beryllium-10 in tree rings formed in 775 CE,...

A DEVASTATING burst of gamma-rays may have caused one of Earth's worst mass extinctions, 443 million years ago. A team of astrophysicists and palaeontologists says the pattern of trilobite extinctions at that time resembles the expected effects of a nearby gamma-ray burst (GRB). Although other experts have greeted the idea with some scepticism, most agree that it deserves further investigation. GRBs are the most powerful explosions known. As giant stars collapse into black holes at the end of their lives, they fire incredibly intense pulses of gamma rays from their poles that can be detected even from across the universe...

Phil PlaitNovember 16, 2015 A new study says that violent space weather that could cost $2 trillion in damage is more common than previously thought In the years 774 and 993, the Earth was attacked from space. Not by aliens, but by a natural event—and it was very, very powerful. Whatever it was, it subtly altered the chemistry of our planet’s atmosphere, creating trace amounts of radioactive elements like chlorine-36, beryllium-10, and carbon-14. And those provide the clue to what the event was: Those isotopes are created when high-energy protons slam into our air. That means the source must have...

According to an Old English manuscript chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons, a mysterious "red crucifix" appeared in the "heavens" over Britain one evening in A.D. 774. Now astronomers say it may have been the supernova explosion that sprinkled unexplained traces of carbon-14 in tree rings that year, halfway around the world in Japan. Jonathon Allen, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, made the connection this week after listening to a Nature podcast. He heard a team of Japanese scientists discussing new research in which they measured an odd spike in carbon-14 levels in tree rings...

In the late summer of 1859, an extreme geomagnetic storm bombarded the planet, igniting the ghostly, emerald lights of the aurora across skies as far south as Cuba. These powerful solar eruptions of magnetized plasma hitting the Earth caused telegraph wires to spark, disabled communications and set fire to several telegraph offices, according to NASA In the modern world, the threat of space weather is far greater as storms like the Carrington Event of 1859 pose a risk to interconnected power grids, airline operations, satellites and communications networks across the globe. "The overall goal is to ensure that the nation...

It’s hard to overstate just how much this would uproot our lives. The lights would of course go out, as would the internet, and any device that draws current from the wall. In places with electronically-controlled municipal water supplies — like most modern cities — toilets and sewage treatment systems would stop working. Heating and air conditioning would fail. Perishable food and medication would be lost. ATMs would be useless. Gas pumps would go offline. And so forth. GPS technology would also be knocked out. Said Grunman, “The GPS system depends on the very precise timing of a course of...

From Allstate, CME Group and McDonald's to Motorola Mobility and Walgreens Boots Alliance, it's hard to think of a big company in metro Chicago that's not cutting head office staff. Corporate headquarters operations that created good jobs for generations of Chicagoans have turned into drivers of unemployment in recent years. Total headcount at Chicago's 10 biggest companies fell 5.6 percent last year. And data from Chicago outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas show big, locally based companies contributing an outsized share of nearly 90,000 layoffs in Illinois since 2013. Kraft Heinz joined the parade on Aug. 12, cutting 700 of...

The sun has had three major solar flares on its surface in the past two days that have affected communications on Earth and could send a shockwave through Earth this Friday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The “solar events” caused brief blackouts in high frequency communications when they struck, twice on Tuesday morning and once this morning, all between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. EDT.

It sounds like a scene from a disaster movie – mass power failures, plane crashes, satellite disruptions, and train derailments. These are some of the threats modern society would face in the case of a massive solar storm, according to a new document released by the U.K. Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The “Space Weather Preparedness Strategy” outlines the disturbances that could be caused by unpredictable solar weather. The most striking find from the report is the fact that a country would have only a 12-hour warning period before the storm would hit the planet. The worst possible scenario...

Explanation: Not fireworks, these intense shimmering lights still danced across Earth's night skies late last month, seen here above the planet's geographic south pole. The stunning auroral displays were triggered as a coronal mass ejection blasted from the Sun days earlier impacted the magnetosphere, beginning a widespread geomagnetic storm. The six fisheye panels were recorded with digital camera and battery in a heated box to guard against -90 degree F ambient temperatures of the long winter night. Around the horizon are south pole astronomical observatories, while beyond the Aurora Australis stretch the stars of the southern Milky Way.

A second strong solar storm this week is predicted to slam Earth Wednesday, causing fluctuations in the power grid and GPS while sparking bright auroras across the world. According to SpaceWeather.com, a “coronal mass ejection” erupted Monday and is expected to hit the Earth with electromagnetic radiation starting Wednesday at about 10 p.m. PDT and until Thursday. At the same time, a geomagnetic storm that began Monday continues to rage on at severe levels, pushing glowing polar auroras to places where most people can easily see them.

A third, much faster coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to catch up with the two observed on 18 and 19 June bringing them all to Earth in close succession by the UTC day of 22 June 2015. The CME was associated with an R1-Minor flare event observed at 0142 UTC (9:21 pm ET) from Sunspot Region 12371 located near center disk. A G3-Strong Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued for 22 June as well as a G2-Moderate Watch for 23 June as the CMEs make their way past Earth. These Watches supersede all prior forecasts. Stay tuned to...

After flying 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) since its Feb. 11 launch, the Deep Space Climate Observatory, DSCOVR for short, will look to the sun starting next month and warn people about solar ejections that can damage Earth's magnetic field and disrupt the grids, global positioning systems and communications networks. The satellite is part of a system that the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado, uses to warn power companies, airlines and other susceptible industries about potentially adverse conditions. "It is probably one of the most important links in the chain," said Howard Singer, chief scientist at...

From the AGU weekly highlights: Large solar proton event explains 774-775 CE carbon-14 increase Tree ring records indicate that in 774-775 CE, atmospheric carbon-14 levels increased substantially. Researchers suggest that a solar proton event may have been the cause. In solar proton events, large numbers of high-energy protons are emitted from the Sun, along with other particles. If these particles reach EarthÂ’s atmosphere, they ionize the atmosphere and induce nuclear reactions that produce higher levels of carbon-14; the particles also cause chemical reactions that result in depletion of ozone in the ozone layer, allowing harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach the...

(Phys.org)—Until recently, the years 774 and 775 were best known for Charlemagne's victory over the Lombards. But earlier this year, a team of scientists in Japan discovered a baffling spike in carbon-14 deposits within the rings of cedar trees that matched those same years. Because cosmic rays are tied to carbon-14 concentrations, scientists around the world have wondered about the cause: a nearby supernova, a gamma ray burst in the Milky Way or an intense superflare emanating from the Sun? Now, Adrian Melott, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas and Brian Thomas, KU alumnus and professor...

Just over 1,200 years ago, the planet was hit by an extremely intense burst of high-energy radiation of unknown cause, scientists studying tree-ring data have found. The radiation burst, which seems to have hit between AD 774 and AD 775, was detected by looking at the amounts of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 in tree rings that formed during the AD 775 growing season in the Northern Hemisphere. The increase in 14C levels is so clear that the scientists, led by Fusa Miyake, a cosmic-ray physicist from Nagoya University in Japan, conclude that the atmospheric level of 14C must have jumped...

The sun produced its biggest solar flare so far this year, a huge blast that caused temporary radio blackouts throughout the Pacific. The X-class solar flare - considered the most powerful category of sun storm - erupted Tuesday from a sunspot called Active Region 2339 (AR2339), peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT (2211 GMT), according to Space.com. The blast, however, is unlikely to cause major problems back on Earth. "Given the impulsive nature of this event, as well as the source location on the eastern limb of the sun, we are not expecting a radiation storm at Earth," scientists with the...