The HORRIFYING solar storm TRUTH behind pleasing NASA James Webb Space Telescope photos | Tech News

The HORRIFYING solar storm TRUTH behind pleasing NASA James Webb Space Telescope photos

While the NASA James Webb Space Telescope can take amazing images and it can also make them look pleasing, a video shows the truly horrifying nature of a solar storm.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Oct 12 2022, 11:50 IST
Think you know our Sun? Check out THESE 5 stunning facts
Solar Storm
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)
Solar Storm
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)
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Truth that NASA James Webb Space Telescope will never tell you: This is how scary a solar storm really looks. (Brilliant Noise)

In recent times, solar storms have become synonymous with aurora sightings and aesthetically pleasing images of far off galaxies. These images are so beautiful that people often do not realize how truly horrifying a solar storm and its consequences can be. Even the NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has played a role in people not understanding the perils of such solar disturbances because of its mesmerising photos. The images shared from the tech marvel are captured in infrared frequency and are heavily processed to make them look aesthetically pleasing. However, a 2006 video truly showcases the destructive nature of solar storms.

Shared by Aeon, this video was made in 2006 which consists of footage from NASA's open data portal. To highlight how scary the video is, the article begins with a trigger warning. It says, “Warning: this film features flashing light that could be unsuitable for photosensitive viewers”. The experimental short was named Brilliant Noise and is essentially a compilation of solar-flare activity filled with choppy lights and static noise. And while it is not polished or smoothed over, it showcases the real horror of a solar storm. You can watch the video here.

Old video shows the horror behind a solar storm

The video has sharp sound of film distortion, static noise and bright flickering lights. But amid it all, you see how a solar storm activity brews and shoots across space. The video highlights a truth that is hidden behind the beautiful-looking images by JWST. And the truth is that solar storms are dangerous. While it may not directly kill humans, it can very well create a situation that can drive our civilization to the brink of extinction.

A G5 class solar storm, the most extreme observed, can burn up satellites and instantly disrupt radio communication, GPS navigation, mobile network and even internet reception. But that's not all, the magnetic field can damage electronic devices, cause failure to power grids and in rare situations, even start forest fires. In 1859, a similar solar storm was witnessed where telegraph machines began shocking the operators and worked without being connected to a power source. It is known in history as the Carrington event.

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First Published Date: 12 Oct, 11:22 IST
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