Traces of enormous solar storms in the ice of Greenland and Antarctica

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151026112106.htm

Sun over the NEEM research station in Northern Greenland.

Credit: Raimund Muscheler

Solar storms and the particles they release result in spectacular phenomena such as auroras, but they can also pose a serious risk to our society. In extreme cases they have caused major power outages, and they could also lead to breakdowns of satellites and communication systems. According to a study published today in Nature Communications, solar storms could be much more powerful than previously assumed. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now confirmed that Earth was hit by two extreme solar storms more than 1,000 years ago.