Solar Flares from Huge Space Storm | 太阳风暴

NASA Warns Solar Flares from Huge Space Storm Will Cause Devastation

NASA 警告太阳风暴将对地球造成严重冲击

Scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the sun wakes "from a deep slumber" sometime around 2013. In a new warning, NASA said the super storm would hit like "a bolt of lightning" and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world's emergency services and national security systems unless precautions are taken. Scientists believe it could damage everything from hospital equipment, banking systems, and air traffic control devices through to everyday items such as home computers, iPods, and GPS devices.

Due to humans' heavy reliance on electronic devices, which are sensitive to magnetic energy, the storm could leave a multi-billion-dollar damage bill and potentially devastating problems for governments. Dr. Richard Fisher, the director of NASA's Heliophysics division, said in an interview recently, "It will disrupt communication devices such as satellites and car navigations, air travel, the banking system, our computers, everything that is electronic. It will cause major problems for the world. Large areas will be without electricity and to repair that damage will be hard as that takes time."

He said preparations were similar to those during hurricane season, which means that authorities know a problem is imminent but do not know how serious it will be. "I think the issue now is that modern society is dependent on electronics, mobile phones, and satellites much more than the last time this occurred," he said, which was 22 years ago.

1.  According to the article, which of the following would NOT be affected by a solar storm?

(A) Solar panels.   (B) Public transportation systems.

(C) Laptops.    (D) Satellite phone networks.

2.  Why is the impending solar storm compared to a hurricane?

(A) They both consume a ton of energy.

(B) Most electronics won't work during either.

(C) The damage caused by this solar storm is expected to be equal to that of a hurricane.

(D) Everyone knows that there will be a problem, but they are not sure of its severity.

3.  Why will the damage from this solar storm be much greater than previous ones?

(A) Solar storms have only happened 22 times, so NASA hasn't studied them enough.

(B) We don't have enough time to prepare as we did in the past.

(C) Modern people rely much more on technologies.

(D) This solar storm will be much bigger than previous ones.

科学家相信大约在 2013 年的某个时间，当太阳从『沈睡』状态苏醒后，太阳闪焰所产生的强烈磁能将以前所未见的威力袭击地球。在一份新的警告声明中，美国航天总署（NASA）表示，这场强烈的太阳风暴将如闪电般击中地球，除非采取措施防范，不然将对世界各地的紧急应变机构和国安系统造成毁灭性的后果。科学家认为这会对医院医疗器材、银行系统和空中交通控管设施产生损害，也会波及日常生活用品，像是家庭计算机、iPod和全球定位系统等。

由于人类过份依赖电子设备，而这些设备对磁能相当敏感，这场太阳风暴或许会造成好几十亿美金的损害，并可能为各国政府带来毁灭性的问题。美国航天总署太阳物理部门主任理查德‧费雪博士在一场访谈中表示：『这将会中断通讯设备，像是卫星、汽车导航、空中交通、银行系统、计算机等任何电子产品或设备，对全球造成重大问题。许多地区会面临停电，而要修复损害将相当费时，因而会非常棘手。』

他说为太阳风暴做准备措施就如同在飓风季节做防范一样，就是当局知道问题即将发生，但不确定会有多严重。他还说：『我认为这次问题症结在于，现代社会比上次发生太阳风暴时来得依赖电子设备、手机和卫星。』而上回太阳风暴发生于 22 年前。

答案：1. (A)2. (D)3. (C)

For Your Information

地球每天都受到太阳的影响，太阳活动基本上有约 9 至 12 年的周期性；在活动剧烈的时候，会突然释放许多高能粒子而形成所谓的太阳风暴，可能威胁地球的太空站、卫星、发电设施等。

科学家早在几十年前就不断追求提升太空气象预报技术的准确性，希望能避开太阳风暴的威胁，美国航天总署的太阳动态观测卫星（Solar Dynamics Observatory，SDO）今年 2 月 11 日从佛罗里达卡那维尔角的空军基地发射升空，进入距离地表约 3 万 6 千公里的『地球同步轨道』（geosynchronous orbit），以便能 24 小时监测太阳，更加了解其内部的结构与磁场活动，强化目前的太空气象预测，了解太阳活动对地球生命与社群的影响。任务时间预估为 5 至 10 年。（数据源：今日新闻）