Summary
Last month, scientists recorded the highest levels of radiation at altitudes used by airplanes in almost 20 years, due to a major solar storm. The solar flare event caused high-energy particles to reach deep into Earth's atmosphere, raising concerns about possible future impacts on aircraft systems.
Key Facts
- A major solar storm on November 11, 2023, caused a significant radiation spike at altitudes used by commercial planes.
- This event was the strongest recorded since December 2006.
- New sensors from the Surrey Space Center were used to measure the radiation levels.
- Radiation levels reached nearly 10 times the usual background levels at 40,000 feet.
- The recent radiation surge was only 2% of the biggest recorded event in 1956.
- Concerns exist that larger future storms could disrupt aircraft electronic systems.
- During the peak of the event, the storm could have caused about 60 errors per hour per gigabyte in onboard computer memory.
