February 2017
Growing space agency dilemma
...threats we need to start taking quite seriously. In a very real sense we are dealing with cosmic fire. A spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) erupts from the Sun’s solar corona releasing plasma and magnetic field. The National Intelligence Council...
May 2017
Humanity is moving towards a new reality
... space hazards can threaten global prosperity. A study by Lloyd’s of London, for example, has suggested that a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun could result in a two trillion dollar hit to the North American electrical power grid...
January 2019
Saving humanity – is space up to the job?
...sophisticated electronic infrastructure that is highly vulnerable to cosmic dangers. Solar storms and especially coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can destroy electrical grids, telecommunication systems, pipelines, industrial control systems that run our...
July 2014
In thrall to a star: understanding the Sun will help us understand our own climate and environment
... flights. Superstorms Over the course of an 11-year solar cycle the Sun will produce thousands of flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) with a wide spectrum of energies. Occasionally, however, an extremely large solar event occurs to remind us how...
June 2021
The next ‘unthinkable’ – global disruption from a solar storm
... electromagnetic radiation (called flares) and eruptions of material known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), accompanied by solar energetic particles (SEPs). Because of the interaction of CMEs with the Earth’s magnetic field, a geomagnetic storm can...
December 2014
Ready for Mars? From Mars-500 to zero-gravity medical issues
... and its protective magnetic field, so the astronauts’ exposure to dangerous ionising radiation will occur. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and cosmic rays will threaten the astronauts’ acceptable radiation level, with the increased risk...
