Changes in the weather on the sun could leave Earth at the mercy of violent solar storms The magnetic field around the sun is set to change in the next decades - cutting down the number of sunspots and explosive solar events. But the events that DO occur will be more damaging - and our aircraft and spacecraft may not be able to cope, an expert has warned.
Changes in the Sun\'s magnetic field could also leave our planet more exposed to galactic cosmic rays - and people in planes and spacecraft would bear the brunt of this alien radiation.
The space age has coincided with a period of unusually high solar activity, called a grand maximum.
Isotopes in ice sheets and tree rings tell us that this grand solar maximum is one of 24 during the last 9,300 years - the high levels of solar magnetic field seen over the space age will reduce in future.
This might sound like good news - but the changes in the sun\'s magnetic field could leave Earth vulnerable to blasts of galactic cosmic rays.
Solar storms could also become more violent.
Both of these could bring danger to astronauts and the crew of high-altitude aircraft.
The most probable scenario, according to Luke Barnard of the University of Reading, is that solar activity will decline - leading cosmic rays to increase by a factor of 1.5, and Earth to be battered by eight large solar eruptions every century.
Mr. Barnard says, \'Radiation in space can be a serious issue for both people and the delicate electronic systems that society depends on. Our research shows that this problem is likely to get worse over the coming decades -- and that engineers will need to work even harder to mitigate its impact.\'