The ESA tests the end of the digital world: the simulation of the most devastating solar storm imaginable.
The Invisible Threat Traveling from the Sun
Every second, the Sun releases torrents of energy into space, but from time to time, it unleashes something much worse: an extreme solar storm, capable of paralyzing satellites, collapsing power grids, and disrupting modern life within hours.
Conscious of this real possibility, experts from the European Space Agency (ESA) conducted an unprecedented exercise: recreating the Carrington Event of 1859, the most intense solar event recorded in history.
The simulation modeled a scenario of magnitude X45, the highest level on the solar flare scale. Its purpose was not only scientific but also strategic: to test the limits of communication and space defense systems against an inevitable phenomenon.
Three Phases of Destruction in a Single Day
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Solar Flare Initiation: an electromagnetic radiation surge reaching Earth in just eight minutes. In the model, the X45 flare disrupted radar and radio communications, rendered GPS and Galileo systems useless, and blinded ground stations in polar regions.
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Particle Storm: ten minutes later, high-energy protons and electrons began hitting satellites, causing software failures, “bit flips,” and loss of control. Some equipment was permanently disabled.
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Coronal Mass Ejection (CME): fifteen hours later, the most destructive wave arrived: a 2,000 km/s plasma cloud. The impact caused the atmosphere to expand, leading to massive overloads that collapsed power grids.
Satellites Out of Orbit and a Disconnected Planet
In space, the atmosphere inflated by solar plasma increased satellite drag by up to 400%. According to Jorge Amaya, coordinator of the simulation, “this increase would cause satellites to descend from their orbit much faster, requiring more fuel consumption and shortening their lifespan.”
Optical sensors were blinded by radiation, navigation systems became unusable, and collision predictions became chaotic.
On the ground, the simulation revealed a chain reaction: power outages, disruptions in electronic banking, halted airports, and degraded global communications.
A Cosmic Reminder
The Carrington Event of 1859 ignited telegraph lines and showed that even a much simpler civilization could be vulnerable.
Today, 165 years later, humanity relies on an interconnected network of satellites, data, and electrical power.
A solar storm of the same magnitude would not only light up the skies with auroras but could darken the entire world for weeks.
A Solar Warning
The simulation by ESA is a warning wrapped in science: and, while the Sun is a source of life, it can also remind us, in a matter of hours, who rules the solar system.
