An artist’s concept of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe observing the Sun. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
Mon 12 June 2023:
NASA has launched a satellite as part of a quest to avert a “internet apocalypse” that could leave people without internet connection for months.
According to Mirror, the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) of the US space agency has reached a critical milestone by navigating through the solar wind.
Scientists have issued a warning about the potential impact of an oncoming solar storm, colloquially known as a “internet apocalypse,” which might occur within the next decade.
The spacecraft, launched in 2018, made an incredible trip that brought it near to the sun’s surface, where solar wind is formed.
According to the report, solar wind is a constant stream of charged particles emitted from the sun’s outermost atmosphere, known as the corona.
Despite the harsh conditions of intense heat and radiation, the Parker Solar Probe persevered in gathering vital information about the sun’s workings.
Professor Stuart Bale of the California University who served as the lead author of the study explained the significance of understanding solar wind.
“Winds carry lots of information from the sun to Earth. So understanding the mechanism behind the sun’s wind is important for practical reasons on Earth,” Bale was quoted as saying.
“That’s going to affect our ability to understand how the sun releases energy and drives geomagnetic storms — which are a threat to our communication networks,” he added.
Such an event could cause people to lose internet access for months or even years, rendering satellites and power lines useless.
Meanwhile, NASA has launched a new campaign offering the public the opportunity to have their name stencilled onto a microchip, which will ride aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft next year.
Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled for journey to Jupiter and its moon Europa in October 2024.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
______________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
