How research prepares us for the next solar storm

It was only last month that a mighty solar storm shone over the northern hemisphere and produced lively auroras to parts of the northern United States.

But the breathtaking light show was not the only influence. The heavy geomagnetic storm, which was triggered by a coronal mass emissions from the sun, sent waves of invited particles that raced towards the earth, stubborn satellites, made GPS signals and exhausting sections of the power grid. The event was a strong memory that the space weather is not just about spectacle, but about a growing national security risk.

At the University of Florida, the spatial physicist Alicia Petersen, Ph.D., works on solutions that could help protect the nation from the next large solar storm.

“Since our society is increasingly dependent on space technologies-from agriculture and aviation to defense and disaster reaction, the understanding of space weather is not optional. It is important,” said Petersen, Associate Professor in the UF department for mechanical and aviation technology and a key member of the UF Astraeus Space Institute. Petersen's group is called space weather effects, forecast and transit or swift, laboratory.

Your laboratory leads the efforts to the forecast and modeling of solar energetic particles as well as their effects on spaceships and spatial infrastructure such as communication systems. The work is a small piece of a growing federal thrust in which NASA, NOAA and the US world space are involved in order to react to changes in the space environment and to build more precise predictive systems. The importance of this push is underlined by the increasing intensity of the current sun cycle.

“We are only beyond the climax of the current solar cycle,” said Petersen. “Intensive solar activity is still ongoing and further displays of the extreme space weather are still on the horizon in this cycle.”

Petersen's team is the only committed space weather research group at UF. Their work focuses on the modeling of the inner heliosphere – the huge space between the earth and the sun – to understand how solar energetic particles spread through them and interact with space vehicles.

They also hope to build a plasma chamber to simulate the local effects of space weather on room -based hardware and work with engineers of autonomous control systems in order to develop the future ability for spacecraft in order to react autonomously to room weather threats in real time.

“We model how these particles move and how space vehicles can react in orbit,” said Petersen. “In this way, we can better prepare for disturbances or even for design processes and systems that are more resistant to these events.”

Solar torches and coronal masses or cmes, which are often referred to as “storms in the sun”, can unleash energy that correspond to the billions of core bombs. Torches travel at the speed of light, while cmes travel hundreds of miles per second. While you can produce breathtaking Auroras, you also represent a serious risk of defense systems, civilian infrastructure and the global economy.

“We have already seen a taste of what solar storms can do,” said Petersen. “The 2003 'Halloween Storms' affected over half of all satellites in orbit at that time. And we know that the sun is even more extreme events.”

The US Department of Defense has increasingly focused on space weather as a critical national security concern. Solar storms can disrupt satellite communication, GPS navigation, radar systems and the electricity infrastructure, which are all of central importance for military operations and national defense.

A few weeks ago, on June 15, all of North America was devoured into a short radio blackout that was caused by space weather. While commercial radio operations were at a significant increase in frequency at a higher frequency, this solar flare caused a signal loss that influenced the amateur radio operators across the country.

Since the dependence of the military in spatial assets continues to grow, the demand forecast of solar activity is also required. The DOD works with agencies such as NASA, NOAA and the National Science Foundation to support research that improves the prediction of space weather, including working at universities such as UF. The prediction of space weather is now not only regarded as a scientific challenge, but also as a strategic imperative for the protection systems and the infrastructure against highly effective solar events.

Petersen's work leads directly to national efforts, which are led by agencies such as the Space Weather Prediction Center from Noaa, which has a public dashboard in order to pursue space weather in real time.

“We not only consider academic questions. We help build the systems that protect power grids, enable safe air travel and keep satellites online – everything that depends on modern life,” said Petersen.