Our Power Grid Is More Vulnerable to Space Weather Than We Thought

The entire planet could be affected

The Earth’s magnetic field – known as the “magnetosphere” – protects our atmosphere from the “solar wind.” That’s the constant stream of charged particles flowing outward from the sun. When the magnetosphere shields Earth from these solar particles, they get funneled toward the polar regions of our atmosphere.

As the particles crash into the atmosphere’s ionospheric layer, light is given off, creating beautiful multicolored displays of aurora near both the North and South Poles. These are stunning visual representations of the complex interactions in the near-Earth space environment, which we collectively term “space weather.”

The same space weather that generates these beautiful displays can cause havoc for a wide range of technologies. We’ve known for a while that space weather in high-latitude regions near the poles can cause power grid failures, sometimes causing heavy damage. The most famous instance was the March 1989 blackout in the Northeastern US and up through Quebec, Canada that left millions without power for 12 hours.


But we haven’t thought of equatorial regions as being prime targets. Our new research shows that areas closer to the equator still experience bad space weather – and its disturbing effects on power grid infrastructure. . .
[link to time.com]