On November 4, one of the most powerful magnetic storms in recent years began on Earth. The reason for the disturbance of the planet's magnetic field was a solar flare. At the same time, one of the largest auroras of the year was recorded. In the new "Point of View", the experts of the Southern Federal University told what magnetic storms are, what are the causes of their occurrence and how they determine our lives.

Astrophysicist on solar activity and its impact on technology

Vladimir Korchagin, Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, chief Researcher at the Research Institute of Physics, told what solar activity is, why solar flares occur and how they affect technology.

The speaker noted that a solar flare is a gigantic explosion on the surface of the Sun. It occurs when the magnetic field lines coming out of the sunspots "lock up" – this leads to the release of a large amount of energy. The plasma on the surface of the star heats up from 6000 to 1 million t ° within a few minutes, which leads to the emission of electromagnetic waves in the entire electromagnetic range: from radio waves to X-rays and gamma radiation. At the same time, the amount of energy released is equivalent to the simultaneous explosion of several million nuclear bombs.

The astrophysicist noted that electromagnetic radiation waves and high-energy solar cosmic rays (over 10 Mev) are the first to reach the Earth. They reach our planet about 8-12 minutes after the solar flare. After 2-3 days, the accelerated flow of the solar wind reaches the Earth's orbit. It is he who, interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, causes its disturbances, which are called magnetic storms.

According to the expert, solar emissions that cause magnetic storms lead to malfunctions of Earth's satellites and malfunctions of shortwave radio stations on the sunlit side of the planet. At the same time, the most powerful and most dangerous are Class X solar flares with a radiation flux of over one ten thousandth of a watt per square meter of the Earth's surface. They can lead to serious accidents of satellites, household, marine and air navigation systems.

Geophysicist on the cyclical nature of solar flares and the dependence of the Earth's climate on solar activity

Andrey Kuznetsov, Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences, PhD, associate Professor, spoke about the cyclical nature of solar activity, its impact on the Earth's climate and the largest solar flares.

The expert noted that scientists have been observing solar activity for more than 400 years – this made it possible to identify the cyclicity in its change. The most well-known and best studied is the 11-year cycle of solar activity. There are also less pronounced cycles of longer duration: double 11-year, century-old (80 - 90 years) and others. According to the speaker, the frequency of moderate and strong magnetic storms also depends on the cycles of solar activity. In the year of minimum solar activity, 1-2 storms occur, in the year of maximum – up to fifty.

The geophysicist also identified natural processes in which the influence of solar activity can be traced. For example, the Arctic seas and the level of the Caspian Sea depend on the state of the Sun. The influence can also be traced in fluctuations (random deviations of the value - approx.) of the temperature of the surface layer of water in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean. This is periodically accompanied, on the one hand, by torrential rains in the Atacama Desert, on the other – by severe droughts in the monsoon regions of Australia and India (El Nino phenomenon), etc. According to the expert, the water content of the Don River also depends on the activity of the Sun.

The speaker noted that the most powerful magnetic storm in the entire history of observations was observed on September 1-2, 1859. It was caused by a series of large solar flares and led to the failure of telegraph systems throughout Europe and North America. In those days, auroras were observed in all geographical latitudes, including the equatorial ones. Magnetic storms of this magnitude occur about once every 500 years. Significantly less severe, but also notable storms were recorded in 1921, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1989 and 2003. Against their background, the magnetic storm of November 4, 2021 does not stand out much.

A long history of observations of solar activity has taught us to predict the appearance of magnetic storms with a lead time of no more than about two days, that is, not before the appearance of spots and flares on the Sun, emissions of matter from the solar atmosphere and corona observed from Earth.

Physiologist about weather dependence and the influence of magnetic storms on human health

Oksana Kundupyan, PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology, spoke about the impact of solar activity on human health, weather dependence in humans and the psychological impact of magnetic storm calendars.

The expert noted that the issue of the impact of geomagnetic storms on human health in the scientific literature is debatable. Currently, there are two points of view on this problem: the first is that geomagnetic storms cause a cascade of negative physiological reactions that negatively affect human health; the second is that geomagnetic storms do not have a significant impact on human health in general.

Adherents of the first theory are mainly domestic researchers, followers of Chizhevsky's works. In their opinion, a change in the Earth's magnetic field under the influence of solar activity leads to an increase in blood pressure, a decrease in working capacity, headaches, increased anxiety and exacerbation of chronic diseases, including allergies, not only in weather-dependent, but even healthy people.

The adherents of the second theory include domestic and most of the foreign scientists. They are skeptical about the existence of a connection between the disturbance of the geomagnetic field and subjectively perceived deviations in the health of the population. Scientists refer to the lack of reliable statistics in the available studies, the heterogeneity of the groups of subjects (different ages, different health conditions) and the lack of control samples where long-term observations of the body's indicators would be carried out.

According to the physiologist, magnetic storm calendars and warnings published in the media can have a psychological impact on impressionable people with diseases. The speaker emphasizes that the accuracy of these calendars is doubtful, because it is possible to predict magnetic storms with a lead time of no more than 2-3 days. Therefore, the published schedule of magnetic storms for a month ahead, as a rule, is pure quackery.