Travelers in the Night Eps. 859 & 860: Powerful Solar Storm & World's Largest Solar Telescope

It's the 365 days of astronomy podgang, coming in 3, 2, 1.

After the Earth, the Sun is the most important object for human beings in the universe.

It is the energy source which produces our food and is the source for all of the energy

and motion around us, except for geothermal and nuclear energy sources.

The Sun is normally well behaved, the exception being solar storms, which can dump incredible

amounts of energy onto the Earth.

The Earth's magnetic field protects living organisms from the effects of solar storms.

Our electronic devices have no such protection.

In 1859, the Carrington event was produced by a very large coronal mass ejection which

impacted Earth.

It caused worldwide, rural displays and severely disrupted telegraph communications.

Such an event today would likely do trillions of dollars of damage to the electric grid and

satellite communications systems.

In a recent publication in the peer-reviewed journal Earth and Planetary Science, Dr.

Carl Upenko and his team of scientists, based in Finland, have found radioactive carbon

14 evidence in fossilized tree rings of perhaps the largest solar storm ever recorded.

This solar storm in 12,350 BC appears to have been much more powerful than the Carrington

event.

Another such Miyaki event in 774 or 775 AD was also identified by radioactive carbon

14 in tree rings as well as in historical records.

These events are named after the Japanese physicist, Fusa Miyaki, who was the first to report

the discovery of radioactive carbon spikes in tree rings.

Scientists are working hard to understand Miyaki super solar storms to enable humans to

mitigate the trillions of dollars in damage one could cause to our modern electronic technology.

For travelers in the night, this is Dr. Al Grower.

Stay tuned.

The Sun energizes all life on Earth.

It also powers our weather, ocean currents and much more.

The Sun is difficult to study since it is extremely bright and our ground-based telescopes

must contend with the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere.

Viewing the Sun from space is also difficult.

The U.S. National Science Foundation, Daniel Kaye, Inoue, Solar Telescope, is the world's

largest solar telescope.

It is perched 10,000 feet above sea level, on the top of Haliakala, on the Hawaiian island

of Maui.

Its location and four meter mirror enables Inoue to see details in the solar atmosphere

as small in diameter as the island of Manhattan.

The Inoue's new visible tunable filter instrument can take several hundred images in different

colors and polarizations in just a few seconds.

This information tells scientists which atoms are emitting or absorbing radiation as well

as the magnetic field environment in which they reside.

These data are then used to produce three-dimensional maps of temperatures, atoms and molecules

and magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere.

These data are essential for understanding the most energetic events in the Sun's outer

atmosphere, such as flares, eruptions, and coronal mass ejections, and consequently improving

space weather predictions.

Sudden solar storms can endanger astronauts, interrupt radio communications, bring down

the electrical grid and or damaged satellites.

3D maps of the solar atmosphere produced by Inoue's new visible tunable filter will

enable scientists to develop models to predict dangerous space weather.

These predictions will enable humans to put their equipment in a safe mode when necessary.

For travelers in the night, this is Dr. Al Grower.

Stay tuned.

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute.

Audiopost production is by me, Richard Drum.

Project management is by Aviva Yamani, and hosting is donated by libson.com.

This content is released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International

License.

Please share what you love, but don't sell what's free.

This show is made possible thanks to the generous donations of people like you.

Please consider supporting our show on patreon.com, forward slash CosmoQuestX, and get access

to bonus content.

Without your passion and contribution, we won't be able to share the stories and inspire

the worlds.

We invite you to join our community of storytellers and share your voice with listeners worldwide.

As we wrap up today's episode, we're looking forward to unraveling more stories from

the universe.

With every new discovery from ground-based and space-based observatories and each milestone

and space exploration, we come closer to understanding the cosmos and our place within

it.

Until next time, let the stars guide your curiosity.