(Image source: NASA / Popular Science)

BY: STEVEN SPARKMAN

ANCHOR: ALLIE SPILLYARDS

It looks like the sun is out to get your smartphone. For the second time in a week, the government agency in charge of monitoring space weather has issued a warning. WCVB explains.

“A solar storm is threatening to create havoc to communication systems and power grids around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expecting a moderate- to severe-level storm. The first two of three solar explosions have already passed. The final one is expected later this week.”

The sun is currently on the upslope of its 11-year activity cycle. From now until the cycle’s peak in 2013, it will occasionally send plumes of charged particles our way.

Those particles are absorbed by our magnetic field, but satellites just have to weather the storm. That means these solar events can interfere with telecommunications, electrical equipment, and GPS. (Video source: NASA)

For most storms, the average person doesn’t need to worry much -- just remember to take that GPS device’s directions with a grain of salt. But a writer for TechEye says -- sometimes there are storms powerful enough to do some damage on the ground.

“Although boffins tend to warn people about solar storms, few people pay much notice. This is despite the fact that in 1989, a solar storm took down the power grid in Quebec, Canada, leaving about six million people without power for several hours.”

The NOAA says especially large storms are rare, but their effects can be severe. A blogger for Periscope Post tells the tale of the biggest one on record.

“The largest solar storm ever recorded occurred in 1859, when telecommunications and electrical infrastructure were extremely limited; during the so-called Carrington Event, telegraph offices reported electrical shocks, fires, and telegraph systems sending and receiving signals even after the batteries were turned off." 

A 2008 study showed that a similar storm today would cause $2 trillion in damage worldwide.