A solar storm simultaneously hit Earth, the moon and Mars – the first time an eruption was measured on three planetary surfaces at once.

An international fleet of spacecraft detected the outburst, finding the particles were energetic enough to soar through Earth’s magnetic field that typically shields our planet from such events.

The solar storm pummeled the moon and Mars due to a lack of magnetic fields, which astronomers fear could be deadly for future human exploration.

Human beings are considering going back to the moon and eventually to Mars within the following decades. 

‘We are still facing one major hurdle, ‘space radiation,’ which is a significant and unavoidable risk for crews’ health, especially for long-term stays at future lunar or Martian stations,’ reads the study by scientists with the University of Science and Technology of China.

‘In particular, sporadic solar energetic particles (SEPs) generated via extreme solar eruptions may enhance the lunar or Martian surface radiation levels to potentially hazardous values.’

The solar storm was detected on October 28, 2021, but the scientists published their findings today.

The event was captured by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) Moon lander, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Eu:CROPIS Earth orbiter. 

The team stated that the event was an example of a rare ‘ground-level enhancement,’ which means particles released in the explosion are energetic enough to pass through the magnetic bubble surrounding Earth and protect us from less active solar outbursts.

This was only the 73rd ground-level enhancement since records began in the 1940s, and none have been recorded since – but still, the first time a solar storm has hit three planetary surfaces simultaneously. 

Since the moon and Mars are not protected in a ‘bubble’ like Earth, particles from the sun can interact with the soil to create secondary generation. 

However, Mars has a thin atmosphere that stops most lower-energy solar particles and slows down the highly energetic ones. 

ESA shared in a statement that ‘a radiation dose above 700 milligray – the unit for the absorption of radiation – may induce radiation sickness via destruction of the bone marrow, resulting in symptoms such as infection and internal bleeding.’

If an astronaut receives more than 10 gray, they are extremely unlikely to survive more than two weeks. 

The 2021 solar storm did not release enough radiation to harm astronauts in lunar orbit –  NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter clocked in just 31 milligray.

Scientist Jingnan Guo researched the solar event, said: ‘Our calculations of the past ground level enhancement events show that on average one event every 5.5 years may have exceeded the safe dose level on the moon if no radiation protection had been provided. Understanding these events is crucial for future crewed missions to the surface of the moon.’

The study shows ExoMars measured 9 milligray, 30 times more than the 0.3 milligray detected on the surface by the Curiosity rover.

ESA’s inner Solar System missions, Solar Orbiter, SOHO and BepiColombo, were also caught in the blast, providing even more vantage points to study this solar event.

Marco Pinto, an ESA research fellow working on radiation detectors, said: ‘We live in a golden age of Solar System physics. 

‘Radiation detectors aboard planetary missions such as BepiColombo, on its way to Mercury, and Juice, cruising to Jupiter, add a much-needed coverage to study the acceleration and propagation of solar energetic particles.’

China has become the world powerhouse in solar panel manufacturing – accounting for 80 percent of the market – but the nation’s process makes the energy less green.

A report found that the clean energy produces as much as 62.5 percent of the carbon dioxide as natural gas because the nation uses carbon-burning plants – five times more than previously thought.

China’s emissions are also not calculated in global carbon footprint projections because it is not required to share such data.

Without data from China, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claims the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry emissions are 48 gCO2/kWh.

However, the new analysis suggests that the number is closer to 170 and 250 gCO2/kWh.

Robbie Andrew, a researcher at the Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, told the Wall Street Journal in 2021: ‘If China didn’t have access to coal, then solar power wouldn’t be cheap now.

‘Is it OK that we’ve had this huge bulge of carbon emissions from China because it allowed them to develop all these technologies really cheaply?’ 

Most solar cells comprise silicon semiconductors, glass, and metals like silver, copper, indium and tellurium. 

However, some are designed with battery storage, which includes the use of lithium.

Gathering silicon and glass has no environmental impact, but mining metals create greenhouse gas emissions and lead to soil, water and air pollution, EcoWatch reports.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) set a target for solar energy to account for 30 percent of energy generation in the US by 2030.

If the target is met, more than one billion solar panels will be spread across the US – and a majority will come from China.

The report was prepared by Italian researcher Enrico Mariuttim, who identified a discrepancy in Ecoinvent’s data two years ago.

‘[The data] showed how much solar photovoltaic systems used in terms of raw materials: silicon, aluminum, copper, glass, steel and silver. Then I saw the carbon footprint. It just seemed way too small,’ he told Environmental Progress. 

Environmental Progress is a California-based environmental group founded by Michael Shellenberger, who was a Democratic candidate for governor in the 2018 California gubernatorial election.

‘According to Mariutti’s findings, the carbon intensity of solar panels manufactured in China and installed in European countries like Italy was off by an order of magnitude,’ according to Environmental Progress.

A 2022 study by scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado determined that emissions per module produced were twice as high in China than in the US for crystalline silicon modules and some four times as high for Cadmium Telluride thin-film modules – a type of solar cell.

A Clean Energy Buyers Institute report also shared a stark warning about China gaining dominance in the PV industry. 

Research determined that if the nation grows in solar manufacturing, the world will see up to 18 billion tons more carbon emissions by 2040, which would all be related to the PV industry.

And the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that ‘the world will almost completely rely on China for the supply of key building blocks for solar panel production through 2025.’

The US, Japan and Germany once dominated the solar panel manufacturing industry. 

However, regulations on coal use pushed the three powerhouses behind, letting China, which does not have guidelines take the top spot.

Chinese firms rely on coal-powered electricity in Xinjiang to manufacture critical raw materials like polysilicon, a high-purity form of silicon.

Mariutti found a major issue with solar data is that those compiling research have ‘been slow to recognize the displacement of the industry to China.’

The nation did not pick up speed in the industry until around 2016, but data collectors could only use estimates and models of emissions rather than concrete numbers.  

‘In 2014, they calculated the carbon intensity of PV energy as if the panels were made in Europe, with low-carbon energy,’ Mariutti told Environmental Progress, referring to data compilers. 

‘By 2016 calculations started to appear as if the panels were made in China, i.e. supposedly with carbon-intensive energy.’

Mariutti found that calculations always sat around 20 to 40 gCO2/kWh, but the specific model or source was not revealed.

‘Had they done the math right, it would come out at around 80 to 106 gCO2/kWh, and that’s with important factors still left out,’ claimed Mariutti.

The IEA told Environmental Progress that carbon footprint calculations for solar panel manufacturing do not account for silicon mining, toxic panel waste and the albedo effect. 

The Albedo effect is when the highly reflective properties of dark-colored solar panels increase the greenhouse effect.

‘According to the IEA, when taken into proper account, the first two factors alone could more than triple the ‘payback period’ for panels, i.e., the time before they become carbon neutral after installation,’ Environmental Progress reports.

‘Why is the IEA not being transparent about its sources and the gaps in the data?’ asked Mariutti. 

‘A hasty transition to solar and other renewables without cast-iron proof of the benefits, all the while handing control to China, could be a huge error.’

 Mariutti has been met with criticism about his claims.

Dr Marco Raugei, a leading researcher of emissions from renewable technologies at Oxford Brookes University, tweeted: ‘We all used Chinese electricity mixes for c-Si PV. And we still got results nowhere near as high as you imply one would. So something is clearly off in your back-of-the envelope calculations.’

Among Maritutt’s claims of carbon emissions, China has also come under fire for using slave labor in manufacturing plants. 

The reason the Chinese have been able to make solar panels so cheaply is because they use Uighur Muslims that are housed in concentration camps, Shellenberger told the right-wing at a 2022 CPAC gathering in Australia. 

In September, Shellenberger also told a congressional hearing in Washington that the US had a ‘moral imperative’ to stop importing solar panels from China. 

 

 

 

NASA could only give a 30-minute warning before a killer solar storm hits Earth – but here is how to prepare for devastating blackouts

By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:19 EDT, 15 May 2023 | Updated: 17:30 EDT, 15 May 2023

Saturn has been confirmed to have more than 100 moons, meaning it may have the most of any planet in the solar system.

The planet has overtaken Jupiter, which has only 95 moons, according to the University of British Columbia.

The International Astronomical Union, which has the final say on orbiting bodies, agrees that 28 ‘moons’ can now be added to Saturn’s haul, bringing its total to 117.

As the largest planets in the solar system, Saturn and Jupiter have so many moons because their mass creates enough gravitational pull to drag space rocks rotating the sun into their own orbit.

But, to be absolutely sure they have extra moons, objects must be tracked for several years before they can be designated as definitely orbiting the planet.

The University of British Columbia says it has recorded 62 new moons around Saturn, catapulting the planet back into first place in the Solar System’s ‘moon race’.

However some astronomers take issue with relatively small lumps of rock being classified as moons alongside enormous moons like Jupiter’s Ganymede, which is larger than the entire planet of Mercury, at more than 1,600 miles in diameter.

Gareth Williams, who recently retired from the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, said: ‘Saturn’s new moons have certainly been discovered, and they are certainly confirmed, so their reality is not in doubt and they are definitely Saturnian satellites.

‘But Roman numerals, given to moons which are often named after Roman, Norse and Inuit gods, are not assigned immediately.

‘That happens after the object has been seen several times over a number of years, and the resulting orbit can be used to predict the future motion of the moon.’

Space expert Professor David Rothery, from the Open University, said: ‘Surveys by powerful telescopes, on the ground or in space, are finding additional small moons all the time at both Jupiter and Saturn.

‘These are mostly kilometre-size chunks of comet or asteroid that were long ago captured into orbit by the strong gravity of the giant planet.

‘They are not the spectacular world-sized moons with internal oceans like Europa and Enceladus.

‘We will probably never know for sure which out of Jupiter and Saturn really has the most moons, because the harder we look, the more we find, and there is no agreement on the lower size limit that a piece of debris orbiting a planet must have before you can call it a moon.’

It comes as a study has concluded Saturn’s rings are no more than 400 million years old – much younger than the planet which formed more than four billion years ago.

Researchers used data gathered from Nasa spacecraft Cassini, which was destroyed via a controlled crash in 2017, on the later of cosmic dust which has built up around the planet’s rings, and can therefore indicate their age, like telling how old a house is by running your finger along its surfaces.