- World Anvil
Jakarta – NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) embarked on a groundbreaking mission and successfully traveled through the solar wind in space for the first time. This aims to prevent charged particles that threaten to disrupt internet signals on Earth.
Scientists have warned about the potentially devastating effects of solar storms, often referred to as the internet doomsday.
They estimate that one such event could occur within the next 10 years, hampering the infrastructure that carries internet providers.
Furthermore, NASA's PSP was launched five years ago and traveled on a trajectory that brought it very close to the surface of the Sun, where the solar wind is generated.
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- Crosswalk
This terrifying wind consists of a stream of charged particles beamed from the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona.
Even so, PSP managed to get very close to the Sun, gathering important insights into the workings of the Sun and its particles.
Experts believe that solar storms could result in an internet apocalypse, or the loss of internet access for months or even years.
A study conducted by the University of California in 2021 found a 12 percent chance that months of catastrophic disruption could occur within the next decade.
In light of the successful mission, Stuart Bale, lead author of the study affiliated with the University of California, noted why it is so important to understand exactly how the solar wind works.
"The wind carries a lot of information from the Sun to Earth. So understanding the mechanisms behind the solar wind is important for practical reasons on Earth," he says.
It will affect our ability to understand how the Sun releases energy and drives geomagnetic storms - which are a threat to both the internet and communications networks on Earth.
The scientists also looked at data collected by the PSP, which described what they called 'a jet of water emanating from a shower that hit them in the face'.
The findings helped identify a phenomenon known as 'supergranulation flow' within coronal holes, where magnetic fields emerge.
These regions are believed to be ground zero for high-speed solar winds, and are usually found at the Sun's poles during quiet periods. They will not directly affect Earth.
