Will a solar storm really cause a global blackout this week?

It’s wrong to be great عظيم solar storm It will affect global communications systems this week, creating a range black out A year that will affect the whole planet, as they include posts in social networks and press reports.

Multiple entries on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as information from the media, indicate that NASA warned that “glow SolarRecorded on July 3, “Moving Fast toward Earth.”

According to these messages, its effect “can cause significant disruption to communications networks”, specifically in mobile phones, satellites, or systems such as GPS or 5G.

“NASA believes that the solar storm will seriously affect the Earth with massive dimming,” for example, one of the posts on Facebook, where the search also allows to find dozens of entries sharing newspaper articles.

NASA warns that “a solar storm is rapidly approaching Earth, a phenomenon that can cause a massive blackout on the planet. (…) A solar storm is moving toward Earth at a speed of 1.6 million kilometers per hour, a speed that can increase with time “, Add another message.

The data: In fact, NASA issued no such warning this week. On July 3 a solar storm You have affected the planet and caused Temporary blackout of radio waves, but only over the Atlantic Ocean.

A NASA spokeswoman explained to Efe in an email that it’s impossible to be a . file solar flare Recorded at the beginning of the month hitting the Earth this week, citing the interpretations of scientists from the Heliophysics Directorate of that agency.

“To sum up, a solar flare rated X1.5 occurred on July 3, but the effects of the flare are over (light takes 8 minutes to reach Earth from the sun, which would cause any impact on the planet),” the message says.

Solar flare on July 3

The glow July 3 ’cause of black out The radio moment over the Atlantic Ocean on the third day, which caused some inconvenience to those who use these radio signals,” continues NASA.

But this really happened a long time ago and there is no solar storm“, Locate.

The agency’s communications include a graph from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a response from Alex Young, solar physicist and associate director of science in the Division of Heliophysical Sciences, showing the region where radio signals were most affected by the day.

The image shows a red area over the entire Atlantic Ocean, which, according to the scientist, at that time was “the part most oriented towards the sun and the most glowing part.”

He finally clarified that the frequencies that were temporarily affected in that event are most commonly used by radio amateurs, commercial airlines, emergency management and defense.

misinterpretation

The confusion about this astronomical phenomenon comes from a misinterpretation of the information provided by NASA Made by newspapers and some media.

Through its Twitter account dedicated to the study of the Sun, the US space agency wrote on July 6: “This weekend, Sol Unleash a big solar glow. This was an X-grade glow, showing the brightest of flashes. “

Subsequently, he asserted that “here on Earth, we are protected from the radiation of flares by our atmosphere, although they can affect communication signals”, which can be misunderstood as a global danger of the effect of this phenomenon.

With information from EFE