Solar flare disrupts rescue missions of Hurricane Ian in USA! This is what happened | Tech News

Solar flare disrupts rescue missions of Hurricane Ian in USA! This is what happened

X-class solar flare eruptions put a temporary halt on emergency responders who were carrying out disaster response and rescue missions from the aftermath of hurricane Ian.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Oct 04 2022, 15:41 IST
Think you know our Sun? Check out THESE 5 stunning facts
Hurricane Ian
1/5 The Sun is the largest object in our solar system and is a 4.5 billion-year-old star – a hot glowing ball of hydrogen and helium at the center of the solar system. It is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth, and without its energy, life as we know it could not exist here on our home planet. (Pixabay)
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2/5 The Sun’s volume would need 1.3 million Earths to fill it. Its gravity holds the solar system together, keeping everything from the biggest planets to the smallest bits of debris in orbit around it. The hottest part of the Sun is its core, where temperatures top 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). The Sun’s activity, from its powerful eruptions to the steady stream of charged particles it sends out, influences the nature of space throughout the solar system. (NASA)
Hurricane Ian
3/5 According to NASA, measuring a “day” on the Sun is complicated because of the way it rotates. It doesn't spin as a single, solid ball. This is because the Sun’s surface isn't solid like Earth's. Instead, the Sun is made of super-hot, electrically charged gas called plasma. This plasma rotates at different speeds on different parts of the Sun. At its equator, the Sun completes one rotation in 25 Earth days. At its poles, the Sun rotates once on its axis every 36 Earth days. (NASA)
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4/5 Above the Sun’s surface are its thin chromosphere and the huge corona (crown). This is where we see features such as solar prominences, flares, and coronal mass ejections. The latter two are giant explosions of energy and particles that can reach Earth. (Pixabay)
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5/5 The Sun doesn’t have moons, but eight planets orbit it, at least five dwarf planets, tens of thousands of asteroids, and perhaps three trillion comets and icy bodies. Also, several spacecraft are currently investigating the Sun including Parker Solar Probe, STEREO, Solar Orbiter, SOHO, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode, IRIS, and Wind. (Pixabay)
Hurricane Ian
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While the ongoing hurricane Ian disaster response continues in the USA, an X-class solar flare eruption added further disruption to the missions. (AFP)

On Sunday, October 2, Hurricane Ian affected regions in the USA suffered a temporary setback as the Sun blasted powerful X-class solar flares in the direction of the Earth. The solar flare charge disrupted the communication systems and rendered the various disaster response and rescue missions useless for a short period of time. This timing proved to be extremely critical as the hurricane has caused massive damage to life and property and the emergency services were aiming to save the victims, who are fighting between life and death, as soon as possible.

But the wrath of the Sun came as a double whammy to the people of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, which are the worst affected regions in the USA. According to a report by Space.com, “The solar flare, a powerful X1 (the mildest form of the strongest category of flares) erupted from the sun on Sunday at 3:53 p.m. EDT (1953 GMT) and peaked about 30 minutes later. Since solar flares travel at the speed of light, the burst of electromagnetic radiation caused an immediate radio blackout up to an hour long on the sun-facing side of the planet”. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the entire USA fell under the effect of this radio blackout.

Massive solar flare attack affects emergency services in Hurricane Ian affected region

NOAA has classified the radio blackout from the solar flare as the strong R3 category. This directly affected 25 MHz radio channels which were being used to conduct rescue missions in an area where the hurricane knocked down all mobile network towers. It also disrupted GPS systems and made them less accurate, affecting the ability of emergency responders in finding out the correct location of victims.

The solar flare erupted in the sunspot AR3110. The sunspot has dissipated now. However, an even more powerful sunspot called AR3112 has emerged in its position and it is believed that it can cause far stronger solar flares. Further, with solar winds picking up due to a couple of coronal mass ejections (CME) releasing in space on October 3, more atmospheric disruptions are expected to happen this week.

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First Published Date: 04 Oct, 15:30 IST
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