Image: NASA
What’s new: Two articles this week reminding us that severe solar activity that can destroy things in space and many things on earth is an ever-present threat.
Why it’s important: PNT and GPS are essential. We need to protect them against all threats.
What else to know:
- There are several “environmental” threats to space and GPS we need to be concerned about in addition to adversarial and malicious ones. These include debris (worst case is the Kessler Syndrome), human error, and severe solar activity.
- We are coming up on solar maximum this summer. Though some analysis shows that severe solar events happen independently of the regular solar cycle. They can happen any time.
- We need to prepare in many areas, including PNT. Everyone needs to do their part.
Strongest Solar Storm Ever ‘Establishes a New Worst-Case Scenario’
New research has pinpointed the exact date when the strongest ever solar particle storm hit the Earth.
This identification of the event, which occurred in 12,350 B.C., rewrites what scientists considered possible when it comes to extreme space weather.
“Compared to the largest event of the modern satellite era—the 2005 particle storm—the ancient 12350 BC event was over 500 times more intense, according to our estimates,” said paper author and physicist Kseniia Golubenko of Finland’s University of Oulu in a statement.
The U.S. Just Ran a Solar Storm Emergency Drill. The Real Deal Would Be a Catastrophe
A unique, multi-agency exercise showed how ill-prepared we are for unfavorable space weather.
