The sun gives us heat, energy, light and, finally, life. What can I say, without our luminary on Earth there would simply be no conditions for all living things. As the center of our solar system, it affects all the processes of other planets. No wonder in many religions the Sun was revered as a deity and worshiped.
The moon at night, the sun during the day is the pattern of our life, but the sun is not as friendly as it seems. There are real dangers that scientists are already talking about and many of them are inevitable. Here are 10 threats that our sun is fraught with.
1
Ultraviolet radiation
Ultraviolet radiation emanates from the sun constantly and falls on the Earth’s atmosphere. If not for the ozone layer, all living things would be fried like in a pan. Human activities and other factors have depleted the ozone layer of the Earth, and the level of ultraviolet radiation has increased. This radiation is to some extent useful, but its excess for humans can result in an increase in the incidence of skin cancer, premature aging, and provoke the development of cataracts and general exhaustion of the body. As observations show, over the past 40 years, the incidence of skin cancer has increased by 15%, and this figure continues to grow.
2
Solar flares
A flash in the sun is an emission of powerful intense radiation that comes from a star. Magnetic radiation waves propagate further and have an effect on the Earth.
But is the influence of solar flares so strong for the Earth as a whole? The answer of scientists is no, but magnetic radiation can temporarily make holes in the Earth’s atmosphere and affect many processes. Electrical appliances, satellites, and the GPS system may fail. Also, magnetic storms can affect people's health. In short, solar flares bring some inconvenience, but they do not cause real damage or natural disasters.
3
Coronal mass ejection
The ejection of the coronal mass (VKM) is essentially a powerful explosion on the surface of the star, which leads to the splashing out of a huge cloud of plasma. Explosions occur in different places of the star, and the mechanisms of these processes are still not fully understood. Spurred by the solar wind, the plasma rushes forward. A huge mass of matter moves with tremendous speed in space, and if the Earth appears in its path, then negative consequences are inevitable. But since our planet is quite far from the Sun, coronal ejections aimed specifically at us are extremely rare.
But what damage can VKM Earth do? Scientists are in a hurry to reassure us. There will be no serious consequences, but for the modern world, stuffed with electronics, there will be problems. The more powerful the VKM, the greater the influence of its particles on the atmosphere and geomagnetic field of the Earth. They can affect the power system, disable electrical appliances and even transformers, disrupt the operation of satellites.
But while the Earth is under a reliable "umbrella" of the ozone layer, people should not worry much.
4
Coronal holes
We know about coronal holes from textbooks on astronomy and physics. These are the spots that form on the surface of the sun. There is no definite sequence of their formation, but to us they are visible as dark voids.
Most often they form during the period of least solar activity in the eleven-year solar cycle. We see them with dark spots, because these places are colder and much thinner than the rest of the surface. Voids are formed there, from which the plasma breaks away together with the solar wind. Such a wind is very dangerous and treacherous. It causes powerful geomagnetic storms. Most of the geomagnetic storms we simply don’t notice, but more powerful storms will be noticeable for susceptible people, especially those with heart problems and blood pressure.
It’s good that the Earth is protected from the solar wind by the same ozone layer. Such a beautiful natural phenomenon as the Northern Lights is caused precisely by the solar wind, which bends around the Earth at the poles. But for cosmonauts he is very dangerous. Strong radiation can cause cancer and loss of vision. But do not worry so much for the astronauts, because a whole team of specialists constantly monitors the situation and warn astronauts about solar storms.
5
The strongest geomagnetic storm in history
In 1859, scientists recorded the most powerful geomagnetic storm that has ever happened in modern history. She was named Carrington Superstorm. It arose after a powerful flash on the Sun, causing geomagnetic disturbances throughout the Earth.
It seems unbelievable, but its power was so great that it caused Sunshine in those places in which it should not be. In the north, the inhabitants of Honolulu saw him, and in the south they saw him in Chile. This is amazing and incredible.
In those years, there was no such dependent electronics, but telegraphers said that sparks flew from the equipment. There were even cases of spontaneous combustion of electrical appliances.
Scientists say that if such a storm happened in our time, the consequences were much more fatal. Power plants would be out of order, short circuits would cause a lot of fires everywhere. All satellites in space would be out of order. There would be no communication and navigation, the Earth would descend into darkness.
The worst thing is that such a storm can happen again. Scientists do not exclude this, but when it happens, no one knows.
6
Because of the sun, the prospects of traveling to another planet are melting before our eyes
We have already talked about the dangers of solar radiation and solar wind for astronauts in space. But this radiation carries another potential problem for the inhabitants of the Earth.
Time for our planet will inevitably pass away and someday we will have to leave it. Many years later, but this is inevitable. But a trip to another planet may not take place due to solar and cosmic radiation.
Astronauts in orbit of the Earth manage to restrain solar radiation, scientists are constantly working on it. But man still cannot physically endure a long journey in space. It is hoped that scientists will be able to develop such tools that can reliably protect people from solar radiation.
7
As a result, the sun will evaporate all water reserves
Now let's talk about the darker prospects of our planet. Now the Sun is at the peak of activity. By star standards, our star is still young and will shine for us for a long time. In this stable state, the Sun will be about 4.5 billion years old. Great news, isn't it?
But for distant future generations, the prospects are not so bright. The sun constantly burns hydrogen, transforming it into helium. Because of this, every one billion years, the brightness of the sun rises by about 10 percent. Such a seemingly small increase in brightness will have disastrous consequences for the solar system and for the Earth. The sun will so warm the Earth that the seas and oceans will begin to evaporate.
8
The oceans will boil
After the beginning of the evaporation of the oceans, the prospects for the Earth will be even worse. It is assumed that water vapor will fill the Earth’s atmosphere. This will cause a greenhouse effect. A furious circulation of water will begin, which, as a result, greetings to the boiling of the oceans and seas. All these cycles will lead to almost complete drying of the Earth's surface, and all moisture will be accumulated in the atmosphere. Although water will be on the Earth in the form of steam, it will be impossible to maintain intelligent life in such conditions. High pressure and huge temperatures on our home planet will destroy all the usual forms of life. Only some extremophile bacteria are able to survive in such conditions.
9
The sun will suck out water from the Earth’s atmosphere
Water will be in the atmosphere, which nevertheless leaves at least some chance of life. But this is also temporary. As the temperature of the Sun rises, radiation from it will increase. Radiation will split water molecules, decomposing them into hydrogen and oxygen, and then they, driven by the solar wind, will leave the Earth’s atmosphere. This will not be a quick process, but in the end, little by little, the water will evaporate completely from the Earth.
By the way, there are several confirmed exoplanets that constantly lose their atmosphere under the influence of the stellar wind of their luminary. We already wrote about such and many other objects on most-beauty.ru in our article about the most beautiful planets in the Universe.
10
Scientists do not know how long the Sun will live, but, in the end, it will die
There are developed models that show the demise of our Sun in different ways. Scientists argue how this will happen, but no one doubts that this will happen. The main question is when?
According to the most probable model, our star will eventually become a red giant. The core inside the Sun will expand, and it will increase in size and significantly increase in brightness. Having inflated to the size of the Earth’s orbit, the Sun will long swallow the already deserted Earth and all other planets. Although the Earth and other planets have a chance to be thrown out of the solar system, but for this the planet will have to approach the Sun at a very close distance. It will happen in about 5 billion years.
What is surprising, probably, our star at that far time can twice pass the stage of the red giant for only several tens of millions of years. After the second significant expansion, our luminary, with an explosion, will drop its outer shell, turning into a nebula, in the center of which a white dwarf the size of our Earth will glow. Such stars are distinguished by high temperature and density. In this form, the dwarf will shine for several tens of billions of years, gradually fading away.
We highly recommend that you also read our article on the most unusual stars in the universe. We tried very hard, looking for fascinating material.