On 23 July 2012, two coronal mass ejections (CME) burst out of the Sun's surface within 15 minutes of each other and headed out into space at more than 3,000km per second. If they had erupted nine days earlier Earth would have been directly in its path. Instead, NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) satellite was perfectly positioned to record the blast.
For a paper [PDF] in the journal Space Weather, scientists analyzed the data from STEREO and found that the CMEs were the largest yet measured and could even have exceeded the notorious 1859 Carrington event. Had they hit us, the resulting electromagnetic disturbance could have taken out most of the GPS network, communications satellites, electrical grids and some servers.
The Carrington Event, named after the British astronomer who spotted the CME, hit Earth in August 1859, back when electrical systems were in their infancy. It burnt out telegraph systems across Europe and the US setting fire to some buildings and extended the aurora borealis as far south as Cuba.
"In my view, the July 2012 storm was in all respects at least as strong as the 1859 Carrington event," said Baker. "The only difference is, it missed."
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/26/two_years_ago_earth_missed_solar_doom_by_just_one_week/
Additional information: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/23jul_superstorm/
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In what could potentially be one of the most, or least, significant actions of his term in office, President Trump Tuesday signed an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to strengthen critical infrastructure against ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks.
EMPs occur for a variety of natural and man-made reasons including, most notably, Nuclear Explosions and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), either of which could potentially take out entire sections of the country's electrical grid and other infrastructure and capabilities, requiring require years or decades to recover from.
Members and supporters of the decommissioned US Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse have long warned of the possibility of an EMP attack, with some individuals, such as Peter Pry, who previously led the congressional EMP commission, asserting that an EMP attack on America could kill off 90% of the US population.
This is because a man-made EMP has the advantage of being highly asymmetrical. A small country able to pull one off would cause potentially massive disruption to a large tech dependent country such as the United States.
Past EMP related coverage here, here and here
(Score: 3, Interesting) by WizardFusion on Wednesday August 06 2014, @08:47AM
Maybe it was a shot across the bow, just a warning.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday August 06 2014, @09:07AM
I am getting something! A boy, a forest with animals on fire running, something about the sight, aliens, "knowing"? Bruce Willis? Maybe? Help me out, my telegraph wires seem to be on fire.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Wednesday August 06 2014, @09:47AM
The movie in "Knowing". I've seen it. You left out the crashing Airbus 320 across a freeway near Boston's Logan Airport (although the freeway was actually outside of Melbourne, Australia.). Not exactly a great movie but it had a terrific musical score. I'm weird; I notice such things.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 06 2014, @11:09AM
You're not that weird. Sorry.
(Score: 1) by ramloss on Wednesday August 06 2014, @02:50PM
It was Nicolas Cage, not Bruce Willis.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Wednesday August 06 2014, @08:18PM
It would have been a better movie if it was Bruce Willis.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 3, Funny) by rts008 on Wednesday August 06 2014, @09:43AM
'I would rather be shot at and missed, rather than shit at and hit.'
Is this where we are all to soil our drawers and run around screaming in panic? Did the Terrorist Threat Level drop below 'orange' briefly?
What am I missing here? Should I start doing the Duck and Cover Drills again?
"No thanks, my FUD mug doesn't need a refill...I'm already stuffed to bursting."(and NO, I do not want a wafer-thin mint!)
OMG!!! There's dihydrogen monoxide coming out of the water faucet...we are doomed!!!*falls over dead, from apathy*
(Score: 2) by PizzaRollPlinkett on Wednesday August 06 2014, @11:16AM
Funny this total disaster almost happened in July, one of the slowest news months of the year. If nothing is happening, the news can hype up something that did not happen. We almost had one of the worst crises since the last ice age, or Y2K, or whatever. Where are Ed Yourdon and Micheal Hyatt when you need them? They're probably on vacation, too.
(E-mail me if you want a pizza roll!)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Horse With Stripes on Wednesday August 06 2014, @12:47PM
I think this is a "we better get our fucking electric grids modernized before the Sun's aim gets better" rather than "OMG! The sky isn't just falling, it's going to melt my cell phone and then I won't be able to see what my friends are up to on Instaface!".
Think of it like a earthquake that didn't cause too much damage that functions as a not-so-subtle reminder to improve your building codes so the next one doesn't ruin your day, or a storm's flooding that reminds us to rebuild on higher ground or make sure the new structures are raised off the ground. If we can't learn from a "that was close!" event that Nature throws at us then we deserve what happens to us when it's a direct hit.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 06 2014, @01:03PM
"GPS network, communications satellites, electrical grids and some servers."
Yeah the good news is servers that don't require electricity, accurate time from GPS, or communications, would be just fine.
Those probably also fit the definition of a secure server being in a steel safe with no connection to the outside world.
They may have just mean the well known Soylent effect where large amounts of traffic take out a server in response to a story.
On the bright side, I have batteries and some solar at home and ham radio six meter aurora propagation would likely be legendary when the whole ionosphere is simultaneously lit up at the same time over the entire day side.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 06 2014, @03:12PM
I think most servers don't need satellites for communication, and I'm quite sure that the majority of servers doesn't rely on GPS for time.
You've got a point for electricity, but then, a local emergency backup generator might replace the failed grid until it is up again.
And no, not every server is accessed over the internet.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 06 2014, @06:07PM
"I'm quite sure that the majority of servers doesn't rely on GPS for time."
Really? The only tier 1 NTP clocks on the network at both current and previous employer (all telecom) have been GPSDO. They got rid of the cesium units like a decade ago, thats why they're like $50 on ebay.
There are non-GPS tier 1 ntp clocks but with the internet being down thats problematic.