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Solar storms can affect our global infrastructure, but not this time. . | Credit
On May 20, a few weeks after the power outage across the Iberian Peninsula, mobile networks began in parts of Spain to falter.
All this very quickly, the sun was photographed as a possible villain.
A wave of social media publications blamed the solar activity of these interruptions, such as Space weather He can It interferes with technology, but only in maximum cases (more later). But this time, Sun Not blame. Experts say that there was no strong solar activity enough at the time of the Spanish current to explain what happened.
“There were no major solar events in 72 to 24 hours before the power outages in Spain [April 28] Or the last Commes case [May 20] Solar and physical researcher Scott McCaytosh told Space.com.
Experts believe April interruption was interrupted by a set of technical failures, network mismanagement, and no fixed load force. The last interruption of the network on May 20 is due to a major technical error during a Network upgrade By Telefonica telecommunications company.
Sunbrush
“I think it is quite clear that the space weather was not the cause of the dramatic power outage in Spain recently, and many rumors have suggested,” said Space.com Solar Physics.
More specifically, there are no main solar torches or Coronary mass ejaculation (CMES) Discovered in the days before the mobile outage on May 20 or the previous power outage via The Iberian Peninsula.
Solar torches are sudden bursts of electromagnetic radiation-a form of energy that include radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, gamma rays, and visible light-from the surface of the sun. It can reach the ground in a little more than 8 minutes and can affect radio and GPS signals. On the contrary, CME is a huge cloud of plasma and magnetic field that is removed from the sun to space. Cmes travel much slower, and takes about 1 to 3 days to reach the ground. If they hit our planet, they can run geographical magnetic storms when the charged particles interact inside the CME column with the Earth’s magnetic cover. These geomagnetic magnetic storms can in turn lead to a large -scale Anura, the disruption of satellites in the low -Earth orbit and affect energy networks.
In general, Spain’s latitude makes it unlikely to be affected by space weather.
The currents caused by geomagnetic. | Credit: NASA JPL
Countries near the Earth magnetic columns are more likely to be practical Magnetic currents (GICS) – Electric currents that flow through power lines, pipelines and even railway tracks during satellite weather events such as CME effects.
For example, Canada, northern Europe and Scandinavian countries are likely to test the effects of GIC, as they are closer to the northern magnetic pole, where the Earth’s magnetic field is easier (which is also why these areas are popular with a chase of Ura). On the contrary, the southern latitude in Spain (about 40 degrees north) puts it further than Magnetic disorder areas. This makes the power outage caused by solar storms in Spain unlikely, except in the most extreme cases.
If it is Spain king It has seen a strong magnetic disorder enough to strike its power network, and it will not be an isolated event, and many other countries were also affected, especially those close to the magnetic poles.
“The power networks were also the farthest north suffering from the resulting currents stronger in the north,” Brarek told Space.com.
This type of huge CME that would lead to a severe magnetic storm affecting low cross -line countries such as Spain is rare, and if that happens, it will be preceded by global alerts from agencies such as NOAA or ESA.
“The beautiful thing is that the sun’s activity is monitored with many satellites, and the effects of the atmosphere and the Earth are well registered,” explained Brick. Thus, we can easily return to the records and know if there is any large eruption on the sun or unusual magnetic disorders a few days before or during this event. “
In this case, such alerts were not issued before any of the recent interruptions in Spain.
What can the space weather do
Space weather can affect satellites, astronauts, energy networks and communication systems, for example. | Credit: ESA/Science Office
However, it is extremely important to track space weather because all types of solar activity can actually overlap with our technique.
Solar torches It can disturb the ENOSFAR Earth, for example, high -frequency radio signals are briefly disrupted and leads to a brief radio power outage on the daytime side of the planet during the glow event.
Meanwhile, Cmes can lead to geographical magnetic storms Earth magnetic field. In extreme cases, these storms can stimulate electrical currents and affect energy infrastructure. Another important Magnetic magnetic storm in May 2024Which caused wide AuroraHe had an impact on power networks (albeit moderate).
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“More” flexibility “has been built in national networks since The last major event moved by solar energy in 1989 in QuebecMcCainchosh said.
Satellite in Low Earth orbit (LEO) You can face an increase in the atmosphere during the solar storms, with the high temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and expansion. This was seen during 2022 Star accidentsAs 40 satellites were lost due to this phenomenon.
Sitting geographic satellites that sit in a higher orbit around our planet may suffer from some damage caused by solar energy molecules, but this is not common. “The sophisticated geographical orbit Satellite You have some weak weather in space, however [they are] McCaintech said.
The bottom line
Although it is tempting to blame the sun when technology fails, there was no strong space activity enough to explain the last Spanish interruption. The true threat of solar storms lies in rare extremist events – and those that scientists around the world monitor closely.
