Perfect Super Storm (1): solar Flame, Magnetic Storm

As I mentioned earlier, the activity of the sun is periodic. The sun has cycles of several years, such as 11 and 22 years, as well as centennial cycles, and even cycles of thousands or tens of thousands of years. These cycles are very objective, some reflect the activities of the sun itself, such as brightness, radiation, electromagnetic storms, the number of sunspots, magnetic field conversion, while others reflect changes in the relative position of the sun and other planets.

The activities of the sun certainly have an impact on human beings. If you think about it, we have sunshine, overcast and rain every day, and the change of seasons reflects the interaction between the sun and the earth. When a solar eclipse occurs (from the earth, the moon blocks the sun) if you are outdoors, you will also have a clear feeling. It may still be bright, but the sun seems to have become so thin that even the temperature dropped a few degrees in an instant. Even from the limited range that the facial features can understand, you will agree that the influence of the sun and other planetary cycles on human beings should not be ignored; at least it should not be regarded as non-existent and only emphasize human activities.

The sun is the brightest source of heat for human beings, and it is difficult to ignore its existence. In the past, people did not have advanced equipment to observe the sun directly, but occasionally black spots on the sun's surface could be observed in thick fog. The Chinese had such observation records as early as the warring States period.

The black spots on the surface of the sun are now known as sunspots. You may think, like early scientists, that black spots are places where the sun is quieter. But in fact, on the contrary, sunspots reflect very intense solar electromagnetic activity. It is so magnetic that the thermal convection that affects the surface of the sun makes the local temperature (3000-4500 K) lower than the periphery, and visually it is a black spot.

The emergence of sunspots is not accidental, but periodic, even the position of the change can be traced. It was not until very recent times that scientists realized that during the period when sunspots are active, solar flares of all sizes (sun flare) occur at the same time, and if such flares happen to hit the earth, it may even affect the earth's magnetic field.

In 1826, there was a Carrington event in the history of astronomy. When Carrington (Carrington, 1826-1875), a very serious astronomer, was working in his home to observe sunspots every day, he suddenly saw a fast and large flash of light that he had never seen or documented. He hurriedly confirmed to the nearby observatory that while he observed the flash, there was also a magnetic storm. The geomagnetic record suddenly changed a lot.

The big flashes he observed, what scientists later called solar flares, like sunspots, reflected that the sun was acting violently. This solar flash collapse not only triggered magnetic storms, but also filled a large part of the earth's atmosphere with charged particles and magnetism, resulting in auroras. People in Europe and the Americas (including low latitudes such as Cuba) have noticed spectacular auroras.

But flares and magnetic storms not only bring beautiful auroras. At that time, scientists began to notice the mysteries of electromagnetism, and ordinary people also began to communicate by telegram. In the 19th century, the world relied on telegrams for commercial transactions and information, and most people used telegrams to connect with distant relatives, just as we are now completely dependent on the Internet.

The solar flare observed by Carrington is only part of the "light". Coronal mass ejection (coronalmass ejections) is the high-energy particles ejected with solar flares that reach Earth about a day later, affecting the world's radio waves, and the resulting currents short-circuit the Telegraph system. At that time, some Telegraph equipment used paper of special material to receive current signals, and these flammable paper even caused a fire because the current was too high.

In fact, this phenomenon is not uncommon. Recently, scientists from the Department of Astronomy at Kyoto University in Japan observed 12 flares from a red dwarf star only 16 light-years from Earth. Flares are a common phenomenon in stars and can be very intense. For example, the largest red dwarf flare observed this time is 20 times higher than the average solar flare. Compared with all kinds of stellar flares, the Carrington event happens to happen on the sun and in the direction of the earth. However, when mankind has just entered the era of electricity and communication is beginning to develop, it has brought a great shock.

Of course, it was not until Carrington recorded that the sun began to have intense activity. It's just that before that, the earth didn't have so much electrical equipment, and human beings wouldn't be aware of the impact at all.

For the next 100 years, compared with 1859, the sun was relatively "quiet" and the earth's magnetic field became weaker and weaker. The magnetic field of the earth is also induced by the magnetic field of the sun. It can be said that the activity of the sun is affecting the earth's magnetic field at any time.

The earth's magnetic field has a protective effect, reducing the impact of solar flares, coronal mass ejections and cosmic radiation on the earth. Come to think of it, if there is another Carrington event-level solar flare today, the earth full of electromagnetic equipment may be "charred" and cause large-scale power outages and blackouts. Since it had such a strong effect in the 19th century, let alone now.

If you remember, just around Halloween in 2003, there was another magnetic storm caused by a strong solar flare. It was later estimated that the magnetic storm was only about as powerful as the Carrington event of 1859. At that time, however, more than one NASA satellite was damaged. Some power plants have also been affected, causing large-scale power outages. Airlines modify flight routes and altitudes to avoid the worst-affected Arctic routes, and the extra fuel consumption alone is significant.

Not only that, the interactions between all celestial bodies and the earth, including the relative positions of the moon and other planets, affect the earth, of course, in periods of varying sizes. There are also patterns to follow for the social and human phenomena affected by these arrangements and relative positions.

For example, the gravity brought by the moon close enough to the earth can cause daily high and low tides. The position of the moon on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar brings the greatest tidal range, which is what most people call the spring tide. The ocean flow caused by tidal range has a key impact on life in the sea. For coastal residents, this information is even more important.

In addition, from folk legends and literature, you can know that Western culture attaches great importance to the influence of the moon cycle, and that the moon phase will affect human behavior. In addition to the legend that a full moon can induce werewolves to appear, English also uses the words lunatic or moony to describe a person who is quite emotional, or even crazy.

Although the Chinese do not specifically talk about the relationship between lunar phase and behavior, they look at so many ancient poems that express their feelings through the moon, such as "I raise my glass to invite the charming moon."people will be reunited and separated, and the moon will be full and missing, which is impossible in ancient times." it more or less reflects how the moon causes fluctuations in the poet's mood and inspiration, which many people feel. At this point, do you still think that human activity is the only important influence?

(from "turning Point")