Scientist Plan Protection From The Next Carrington Event!

[00:00:01][music] >> Jim Kaufman will news report today.

[00:00:08]Scientists plan protection from the next Carrington event.

[00:00:13]Many people may have heard of the Carrington event, which was a huge geomagnetic solar storm that occurred in September of 1859.

[00:00:25]But probably no one realizes that scientists have proven events comparable to that solar event have been around every 100 to 150 years.

[00:00:37]Meaning Earth is long overdue for its next major coronal mass ejection comparable to a Carrington event, maybe stronger.

[00:00:49]A new paper published in the June issue of space weather describes how a small fleet of spacecraft could be used to partially neutralize the approaching coronal mass ejections, even Carrington class monsters, by releasing clouds of gas into or in front of the coronal mass ejections path.

[00:01:13]The editors of the science magazine called it an orbital airbag for solar storms.

[00:01:21]The researchers, led by Brian Walsh of Boston University, got their inspiration from the Earth itself.

[00:01:29]During major geomagnetic storms, Earth's upper atmosphere naturally releases a huge fountain of oxygen ions into space. These ions mass load or strengthen the magnetic field, reducing magnetic reconnection and in effect making Earth's magnetic field harder to push around.

[00:01:54]The new study simply asked the question, "What if we were able to amplify Earth's natural defense using spacecraft and our own man-made coronal mass ejections directed towards the sun or the inbound coronal mass ejection?"

[00:02:12]Olsen's team simulated the great geomagnetic storm of May 2024 and found that they could cut some of its effects by as much as 84% using only six spacecraft releasing 384 tons of barium-like gas heavy metals.

[00:02:36]384 tons of barium might sound like a lot of gas, but consider this. A typical coronal mass ejection weighs about a billion tons.

[00:02:48]The proposed shield contains less than 1 millionth as much mass, yet still weakens the storm's impact significantly.

[00:02:58]Their scheme punches far above its weight.

[00:03:01]You can see a simulation of what they have planned here. Six spacecraft directed at the sun or the inbound coronal mass ejection creating, well, or intensifying Earth's magnetic field or shield.

[00:03:20]Now, for some of the problems.

[00:03:22]Once the spacecraft deploy their defenses, their tanks would empty quickly.

[00:03:28]A refill would require launching six more Starship class tankers into Earth's lower atmosphere.

[00:03:37]Also, the environmental effects are unknown.

[00:03:41]Injecting hundreds of tons of ionized gas, i.e., heavy metals and barium into Earth's magnetosphere could alter the radiation belts, interfere with satellites, and create an artificial plasma environment unlike anything near Earth today.

[00:04:00]Researchers still need to understand these risks.

[00:04:04]Some say that the paper is not seen as a concrete proposal, but rather as a provocative thought experiment, although others claim the defenses already being created.

[00:04:17]Defeating solar storms is within our reach.

[00:04:21]We just don't know if it's a good idea or not.

[00:04:25]What do you think about this proposal?

[00:04:28]Will it benefit mankind or further screw up Earth's atmosphere?

[00:04:33]A question we may not know until it's too late.

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