The Sun will undergo a period of solar minimum between 2019 and 2020, and with it comes the increased risk of solar storms. Every 11 to 12 years or so, the Sun enters a phase of solar maximum and is followed by a solar minimum. The transition from one state to another is marked by a lower number of solar flares and sunspots erupting on the surface of the Sun. But this does not mean activity at the burning heart of the solar system subsides or weakens.
Instead, solar minimums give way to Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) ripping holes through the Sun’s magnetosphere.
These gaping tears in the Sun’s outer layer release vast amounts of charged particles and radiation out into space and towards the Earth.
CMEs often create the conditions for heightened geomagnetic activity and aurora lights around our home world.
This can knock communications satellites out of order and trigger widespread power blackouts
READ MORE: Massive black hole birth REVEALED in groundbreaking new study
And according to Dean Pesnell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, this is a natural part of the Sun’s cycle.
The space expert said: “We see these holes throughout the solar cycle but during solar minimum they can last for a long time – six months or more.”
Streams of charged solar winds escaping from the Sun have the power to cause a wide array of disastrous effects around the planet.
Some of the weakest solar storms have been known to confuse migratory animals while stronger ones might cause GPS systems to fail.
READ MORE: ‘All hell will break loose’ when solar flare CRIPPLES Earth
Solar storms can wipe out satellites, disable communications and render Earth’s navigations systems useless.
The US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) explained: “While the storms create beautiful aurora, they also can disrupt navigation systems such as the Global Navigation Satellite System and create harmful geomagnetic induced currents in the power grid and pipelines.”
Just this week, on Monday, January 28, space weather forecasters have warned a coronal hole had opened in the Sun and is facing the Earth.
Forecasters at SpaceWeatherLive warned “enhanced solar winds” are now barreling towards the planet in as little as three days.
READ MORE: Asteroid Apophis: Will 1,200ft asteroid named after god of CHAOS slam into Earth in 2020?
The same coronal hole previously triggered a G1 geomagnetic storm on Earth.
Geomagnetic storms rank from “minor G1 storms” to extreme “G5 storms” on the official SWPC hazard scales.
Minor G1 storms cause all sorts of disruptions from power grid fluctuations to minor satellite impacts.
Extreme storms, however, risk complete power grid blackouts, satellite disruptions, a shutdown of radio frequencies and spacecraft operation issues.
During the Sun’s period of minimum, the star’s magnetic sphere also weakens which can prove to be a problem for astronauts in space.
Mr Pesnell said: “During solar minimum, the Sun’s magnetic field weakens and provides less shielding from these cosmic rays.
“This can pose an increased threat to astronauts travelling through space.”
Solar minimums also result in a period of atmospheric cooling and in some cases cause the Earth’s natural heating mechanism to “collapse”.