Expert Advice: Stock Up on Water, Gasoline and Digital Document Copies
NASA can only issue a warning 30 minutes before a deadly solar storm hits Earth, but here's how to prepare to devastating power outages? The US space agency has shown that its artificial intelligence system can predict solar storms half an hour earlier. But this may not be enough to prepare the world for a devastating blackout.
According to a NASA study, deadly solar storms can take out the Internet and power for several hours — and in this case there will be only 30 minutes to prepare.
According to the Daily Mail, the US space agency has developed a new artificial intelligence system that can predict when destructive events will hit Earth.
Despite the fact that the system is considered the most advanced warning system, 30 minutes may not be enough time for the world to prepare for complete darkness.
However, people can now take steps to prepare for an extreme solar event, such as putting together a survival kit and printing copies of digital documents.
NASA announced the development of its computer model called DAGGER back in March, but now the study is gaining popularity among the public.
An international team of researchers from the Frontier Development Lab – a public-private partnership that includes NASA, the USGS and the US Department of Energy, – uses artificial intelligence to find links between the solar wind and geomagnetic disruptions or disturbances that damage technology.
The researchers applied an artificial intelligence technique called «deep learning,» which trains computers to recognize patterns based on previous examples. And the team used this technology to uncover relationships between solar wind measurements taken from heliophysics missions. These missions are space probes carefully placed throughout space to create a huge array of sensors that work together to study the Sun.
The team tested DAGGER against two geomagnetic storms in August 2011 and March 2015. The system could quickly and accurately predict the effects of the storm around the world on a case-by-case basis.
Lead author Vishal Upendran, from the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India, said in a statement: «With this AI, it is now possible to make fast and accurate global forecasts and make informed decisions in the event of a solar storm, thereby minimizing — or even preventing – disruption in today's society.»
Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, a problem for precision drilling and other technologies in the first place. GPS outages may also occur.
A solar storm could also cause communication problems and increase radiation around the north and south poles, likely forcing airlines to reroute flights. Some have already done it.
In 1859, a powerful geomagnetic superstorm known as the Carrington event caused powerful coronal mass ejections towards the Earth. If such an event were to occur in today's world, the consequences would be catastrophic.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has shared how to prepare for an extreme solar storm. The agency suggests filling plastic containers with water and placing them in a freezer that can then be used to keep refrigerated foods cold in the event of a power outage.
The public should keep their car tank at least half full as gas stations use electricity to power their pumps. And if you have a garage, look for a manual release button, experts advise.
NOAA also urges people to back up important digital data and information and keep money somewhere at home, as banks will be unavailable due to outages in the supply of electricity.