[ti:Threat of Solar Storms Seen with Recent Satellite Loss] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]SpaceX recently announced that a solar storm has disabled [00:05.76]at least 40 of the 49 communication satellites that it recently launched. [00:13.80]The company said the satellites were launched on February 3 [00:18.16]from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [00:22.32]Around the same time, there was a "geomagnetic storm watch" [00:26.84]listed by the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center. [00:31.80]The center warned that a large burst of solar plasma gas [00:36.24]and electromagnetic radiation from the sun's surface [00:40.88]would likely reach Earth's atmosphere. [00:44.92]SpaceX said the storm greatly increased atmospheric density [00:49.92]around the satellites' low orbit. [00:53.56]This created friction that disabled at least 40 of them. [00:59.16]Jonathan McDowell is a Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist. [01:04.64]He said that the incident is believed to be [01:08.24]the largest collective loss of satellites [01:11.44]from a single geomagnetic event. [01:15.52]Scientists are warning that these destructive solar storms [01:21.56]could affect life on Earth at any time. [01:25.60]These outbursts from the sun, which eject energy [01:30.48]in the form of magnetic fields and plasma gas [01:34.72]are unpredictable and difficult to prepare for. [01:40.20]Research shows that Earth is hit [01:43.04]by a very destructive solar storm every century or two. [01:48.56]In the past, these were mainly colorful light shows on the sky [01:54.48]with limited effects on humanity. [01:58.60]Modern technology, however, can be severely affected by these solar storms. [02:05.64]When an intense geomagnetic storm hit the Earth in September 1859, [02:13.76]telegraph systems across North America and Europe failed. [02:19.40]Some operators reported receiving electrical shocks. [02:24.36]A solar storm in March 1989 caused power failures in Quebec, Canada. [02:33.64]The Halloween Storms of 2003 affected more than half of [02:38.80]the orbiting satellites and disrupted aviation. [02:43.68]Electrical service was also knocked out in parts of Europe for several hours, [02:49.76]and transformers in South Africa were destroyed. [02:55.28]Raimund Muscheler is a geology professor at Lund University in Sweden. [03:03.24]In a new study of ice samples, he concluded [03:07.24]that a previously unknown, huge solar storm about 9,200 years ago [03:16.04]would have destroyed communication systems [03:19.20]if it had hit Earth in modern times. [03:23.60]Daniel Baker is an expert in planetary and space physics [03:28.44]from the University of Colorado. [03:31.64]When talking about solar storms, he said, [03:35.28]"... it's something that really needs to be dealt with by policymakers." [03:41.80]He added that "... in the longer term, it's not a question of if but when." [03:49.36]The sun outbursts could first disrupt the ionosphere [03:53.92]— where the Earth's atmosphere meets space [03:57.08]— and radio communications. [04:00.68]They also create additional friction on some satellites, [04:05.08]which is what happened to SpaceX satellites. [04:10.04]The storm with its highly charged particles could also be radioactive [04:15.48]and presented a danger to astronauts in orbit. [04:20.52]The gas and magnetic field explosions on the surface of the sun, [04:25.08]known as "coronal mass ejection," [04:28.48]could overload Earth's electrical power systems [04:32.24]and speed corrosion of pipelines. [04:36.40]"The geomagnetic storm can actually cause transformers to burn through [04:41.96]if they are not adequately protected," said Muscheler of Lund University. [04:48.76]Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi is an assistant professor [04:52.96]in the computer sciences at the University of California, Irvine. [04:59.04]She warned that solar storms could also damage [05:02.60]long-distance communication lines between North America and Europe. [05:08.80]Any major solar storm could threaten Global Positioning System (or GPS) satellites [05:16.84]which are critical to modern life from driving cars to flying planes. [05:23.36]And a big storm can cause a reduction in the ozone to affect the climate on Earth. [05:30.76]McDowell of Harvard-Smithsonian expects [05:34.40]geomagnetic storm activity to increase [05:38.28]as the sun nears its 11-year cycle of magnetic field activity known as sunspots. [05:45.88]The cycle is predicted to be at its worst in July 2025. [05:53.04]Solar scientists say the good news is that it will be less intense [05:58.92]than the most active cycles of past centuries. [06:03.68]However, some governments seem unprepared [06:07.56]for possible damage likely to be caused by future major storms. [06:13.76]Baker, the University of Colorado expert [06:18.24]said a concerned woman in France contacted officials there [06:22.64]for advice on how to prepare for a major geomagnetic storm. [06:29.20]They told her, "We suggest you buy a chocolate cake, [06:34.00]eat it and wait for the end of the world." [06:39.24]I'm Jill Robbins. [06:41.48]And I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM