Nous Avons Échappé de Justesse à une Éruption Solaire Catastrophique

Sympa

Une puissante éruption solaire s'est récemment produite, mais heureusement, elle n'a pas eu d'impact significatif sur la Terre. Cependant, elle nous rappelle les dangers potentiels des éruptions solaires et leurs effets sur notre planète. L'éruption solaire a été classée comme une éjection de masse coronale (CME) et se déplaçait à une vitesse trois fois supérieure à la vitesse normale des CME. Cette vitesse accrue signifiait que l'éruption avait le potentiel de causer des perturbations significatives du champ magnétique terrestre et de potentiellement endommager les systèmes électroniques. La tempête solaire la plus perturbatrice jamais enregistrée fut l'événement de Carrington en 1859. Animation créée par Sympa. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Musique par Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com Pour ne rien perdre de Sympa, abonnez-vous!: https://goo.gl/6E4Xna​ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nos réseaux sociaux : Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sympasympacom/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sympa.officiel/ Stock de fichiers (photos, vidéos et autres): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Si tu en veux encore plus, fais un tour ici: http://sympa-sympa.com

Transcript

00:00On July 23, 2024, the Solar Orbiter space probe, operated by the European Space Agency,

00:07detected a solar eruption of exceptional power coming from the hidden face of the Sun.

00:13Although it is not the most intense ever observed,

00:16it is undeniable that we had an incredible chance of not suffering the devastating effects.

00:21Such eruptions often cause violent and persistent radiation storms.

00:26If it were to go to Earth, it could cause power cuts worldwide.

00:33Before examining this potentially catastrophic solar eruption in more detail,

00:38it is essential to understand the nature of this phenomenon.

00:41Solar eruptions result from the incessant movement of magnetic fields in the atmosphere of our star.

00:46When the Sun approaches its maximum solar, the most active phase of its 11-year cycle,

00:52which, by the way, corresponds to the current period,

00:56these magnetic fields interweave more and more,

00:59transforming our star into a gigantic sphere of intertwined magnetic wires.

01:04These fields intersect, intercut, and end up reconnecting.

01:09Have you ever observed iron filings around a magnet?

01:12They align according to the magnetic force lines.

01:15Similarly, the burning plasma that covers the surface of the Sun

01:20is influenced by these same lines of force.

01:22Sometimes, when the magnetic fields interact,

01:26a part of the plasma detaches,

01:28accelerating these particles at dizzying speeds

01:31and releasing intense radiation into space.

01:34This is what we call a solar eruption.

01:37Other times, our star projects huge amounts of matter

01:41during phenomena called coronal mass ejections, or EMC.

01:45Only one of these ejections can contain up to 20 billion tons of matter.

01:50If this matter was made up of rock,

01:52it could form a mountain 400 meters in diameter and nearly 800 meters in height.

01:57This ejected material often travels through space at speeds exceeding 1.6 billion kilometers per hour.

02:04Solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections

02:07are among the most violent events in the solar system,

02:10releasing unimaginable amounts of energy.

02:13Solar eruptions are classified according to their intensity.

02:16The weakest belong to classes A and B,

02:19followed by classes C and M,

02:21while the most powerful eruptions are classified in the X category.

02:25Each letter is accompanied by a number ranging from 1 to 9,

02:28and sometimes even a higher number,

02:30in the same way as the Richter scale used for earthquakes.

02:33Class A and B eruptions are too weak to affect our planet.

02:38On the other hand, class C eruptions can cause light effects,

02:42albeit perceptible.

02:43Class M eruptions can cause radio-temporal interruptions at the poles

02:47and trigger moderate radiation storms,

02:50potentially dangerous for astronauts.

02:52However, the most formidable are class X eruptions.

02:56Some eruptions are more than 10 times more powerful than a class X.

03:00This is why the classification of class X eruptions can exceed the number 9.

03:05Let's go back to this recent solar eruption.

03:07It belonged to class X-14.

03:10We already know that this corresponds to an eruption of exceptional intensity.

03:14Among the other major eruptions recently detected by astronomers,

03:18we note an eruption of class X-12 that occurred on May 20,

03:21as well as an eruption of class X-10 observed on July 17.

03:25All these eruptions came from the hidden side of the Sun.

03:28Concerning the side of our star facing the Earth,

03:31the most intense solar eruption observed so far in this solar cycle

03:35occurred on May 14.

03:37It was an eruption of class X-8.7,

03:40which caused radio interruptions.

03:42A few days earlier, a powerful geomagnetic storm,

03:45accompanied by spectacular aurorae visible throughout the world,

03:49had already occurred, resulting in powerful coronal mass ejections.

03:53As for the eruption of class X in July,

03:55its power was such that it could have disastrous consequences for us.

04:00Fortunately, the plasma explosion,

04:04was not directed towards the Earth.

04:07If this had been the case,

04:09we would have witnessed a solar storm of considerable magnitude.

04:12The Boreal auroras would have been breathtaking,

04:16but also a sign of a certain terror.

04:18However, such an explosion of energetic particles projected towards the Earth

04:23could have caused major technological disruptions

04:26and electrical breakdowns,

04:28similar to the 1989 event

04:30that seriously damaged Quebec's power grid,

04:33or a much older disaster,

04:35which, despite everything,

04:37had caused significant damage worldwide.

04:40We refer to the Carrington event,

04:43which occurred in 1859,

04:45which constitutes the first documented solar eruption

04:48to have impacted our planet.

04:50This event occurred on September 1,

04:52and bears the name of Richard Carrington,

04:55the solar astronomer who observed the eruption through his own telescope

04:58and drew the visible solar spots on the surface of our star.

05:02According to scientists,

05:04this eruption remains the most powerful documented solar storm

05:07in the last five centuries.

05:09The Carrington event caused visible auroras

05:12all the way to the south of the Caribbean.

05:14It also caused major disruptions

05:16to telegraphic services around the world,

05:19electrocuting some operators

05:21and causing fires

05:23after electrostatic discharges

05:25ignited the paper used for transmissions.

05:28Another major solar eruption,

05:30which occurred on August 4, 1972,

05:32disrupted long-distance telecommunications

05:36in several American states,

05:38including Illinois.

05:39This incident led the American Telephony and Telegraphy Company

05:43to completely review its power system

05:45for transatlantic cables.

05:47Then, on March 13, 1989,

05:50two extremely powerful coronal mass ejections

05:54caused a geomagnetic storm

05:56that led to a power outage in Canada.

05:58This cut left about 6 million people

06:01without electricity for nine hours.

06:04It is reported that this solar eruption

06:06disrupted the electricity transmission network

06:08of the Hydro-Québec power station

06:10and damaged some electric transformers in New Jersey.

06:13However, despite its magnitude,

06:15this solar storm was nothing compared

06:17to the intensity of the Carrington event.

06:20The July 14 solar storm

06:22occurred on the day of our national holiday,

06:24in the year 2000.

06:25It was a class X5 event

06:28that caused short circuits in several satellites

06:31as well as radio cuts.

06:32This episode remains

06:34one of the most studied solar events to date.

06:37Between October and November 2003,

06:39our star emitted a series of major solar eruptions

06:42and coronal mass ejections

06:44that hit the Earth, striking its atmosphere.

06:47These solar storms,

06:49known as the Halloween Storm of 2003,

06:51led to the detour of certain flights

06:54affecting satellite systems

06:56and causing power outages in Sweden.

06:58In addition, the solar and heliospheric observatory

07:01was unable to fulfill its functions

07:03during this intense solar episode.

07:05On October 28, 2003,

07:07the sun emitted a solar eruption

07:09of considerable magnitude

07:11towards the Earth.

07:12It was so intense

07:14that it saturated the sensor of the space probe

07:16that measured it,

07:17the latter reaching its limit at X28.

07:20Later, scientists determined

07:22that the eruption had actually reached

07:24a maximum intensity of about X45.

07:26What made the Halloween storms

07:28particularly disturbing

07:30is that they occurred during a period of the solar cycle

07:33where the activity is usually calm,

07:35i.e. 2 to 3 years after the maximum solar.

07:37According to NASA statistics,

07:39only 17 powerful solar eruptions

07:41took place during this period.

07:43On December 5, 2006,

07:45the sun emitted a new class X9 solar eruption.

07:49This eruption disrupted communications

07:51between satellites and the Earth

07:53as well as GPS navigation signals

07:55for about ten minutes.

07:57The storm was so powerful

07:59that it even damaged the radiographic imager

08:01of the satellite GOES-13,

08:03affecting several pixels of its detector.

08:05In February 2022,

08:07SpaceX suffered the formidable power

08:09of our star

08:11when a geomagnetic storm

08:13destroyed 38 Starlink satellites,

08:15representing losses of several tens of millions of dollars.

08:18This disaster occurred

08:20shortly after their orbit.

08:22Unfortunately, Starlink satellites

08:24are particularly vulnerable

08:26to geomagnetic storms

08:28due to their extremely low orbits,

08:30located between 100 and 200 km.

08:32They depend on their engines

08:34to counter the atmospheric drag

08:36and reach their final altitude

08:38of about 560 km above the Earth.

08:40During a geomagnetic storm,

08:42the Earth's atmosphere absorbs

08:44the energy of the storm,

08:46warms up and extends to the heights.

08:48This leads to an increase

08:50in the density of the atmosphere,

08:52which increases atmospheric resistance

08:54and can represent a major risk

08:56for satellites.

08:58That's exactly what happened.

09:00The new Starlink satellites

09:02failed to compensate for this increased drag

09:04and began to fall back,

09:06ending up burning in the atmosphere.

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