Solar storm terror: CME can endanger satellites, knock out power grids on Earth

The Sun throws out immense amounts of energy in various forms including CME. These can generate a huge solar storm that can impact satellites, power grids and much more. Know how these solar storms can terrorise Earth.

NASA Parker Solar Probe has been contributing to studying the Sun's corona and solar wind and giving scientists crucial information about the space environment.

According to NASA, Coronal mass ejection (CME) mostly occurs when the Sun shoots out solar flares. These are huge bubbles of coronal plasma surrounded by strong magnetic fields.

Currently, we are nearing the solar maximum which increases the Sun’s activity and the number of CME, solar flares, and solar storms.

NASA says that these CMEs generate massive solar storms that in turn disrupt navigation equipment, communication equipment, power grids, and even satellites. 

Scientists are continuously studying the Sun’s phenomenon and how fast these CMEs travel to the Earth's atmosphere in order to protect all the electrical infrastructure.

NASA said, “Learning more about how these events interact with interplanetary dust could help scientists better predict how quickly CMEs could travel from the Sun to Earth, forecasting when the planet could see their impact,”

NASA also reported that with the Sun being in its most active phase, the risk of intense CMEs, solar storms, and geomagnetic storms is also increasing which can severely impact Earth.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe plays a crucial role in understanding the solar weather and the Sun’s impact on Earth.

The probe is equipped with four instruments which enable it to study magnetic fields, plasma, energetic particles, and solar wind.

All the information collected by Parker Solar Probe helps scientists understand the physics of the Sun.