The Sun's Most Powerful Flare in Seven Years Just Erupted

Science Alert ^ | May 16, 2024 | MICHELLE STARR

[Omnivore-Dan]

I’m sure there was. And am sure there will be again.

[citizen]

It largely missed the earth.

Someday, a Carrington-class flare will again hit earth.

[absalom01]

Someday, a Carrington-class flare will again hit earth.

Of that I have no doubt. The question is, and I have no idea what the answer might be, is would a massive CME like that actually be capable of a large and uncontrolled grid-down scenario. Back in the late 90's and early 00's when this was a hot topic among the "prepared", (or those trying to be) the thinking seemed to largely analogize an EMP event. Which would come out of the blue, without giving a grid operator or anyone else any time to take any measures. We would know that a CME was coming. Sure, communications satelites, GPS, basically anything in orbit could be knocked out, but the CME would take at least a couple of days to get to Earth. And if it did, would it be able to overwhelm a modern power transmission system?

Hoover dam, for example, is has a design rating of 2,000 megawatts, if memory serves, and the transmission lines from there to Los Angeles operate (again from memory) at around 3000 Kv. That's a far cry from a 6 volt 24 amp telegraph line.

I have no idea of the answers, just kinda curious about what the real impact might be.

The only thing that I could find on line says that a big CME could induce ~10Kv, coming as short-duration pulses, which doesn't seem like something that would endanger a major transmission line. So, local effects maybe? Dunno, just kinda curious.