Watching the Northern Lights might feel like an electrifying experience, but they can quite literally lead to shocks on Earth. These spectacular auroras are caused by ‘head-on’ blows to Earth’s magnetic field , which can also damage critical equipment such as power lines, oil pipelines, railways and undersea cables , scientists have warned. Solar storms are well known to cause communications blackouts due to their effect on the atmosphere, but interplanetary shocks that strike Earth’s magnetic field also cause powerful ground-level electric currents – threatening key infrastructure.
Auroras have inspired myths for thousands of years – but only now, with modern technology dependent on electricity, is their true power being appreciated. The new study, published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences , shows that the same forces that cause auroras also cause currents that can damage infrastructure which conducts electricity, such as pipelines. Researchers showed that the angle at which interplanetary shocks strike is key to the currents’ strength, offering an opportunity to forecast dangerous shocks and shield critical infrastructure.
Lead author Dr Denny Oliveira, of Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, Maryland, said: ‘Auroras and geomagnetically induced currents are caused by similar space weather drivers. ‘The aurora is a visual warning which indicates that electric currents in space can generate these geomagnetically induced currents on .
