Minnesotans love to talk about the weather. And that includes the weather wherever it’s happening, like on the surface of the sun.
The northern lights are a good example. Bursts of energy from the sun pull on the earth’s magnetic field and cause the neon green, purple and yellow waves we see in the sky. For a long time, that was the only way the sun’s geomagnetic storms were noticeable to life on this planet. But severe solar weather can also upset technologies we now depend on, like the electric grid and satellite systems. A severe storm — and it’s not clear if or when one will happen — could spell disaster for every sector of the economy.
University of Minnesota Agronomy and Plant Genetics Professor Kathryn Draeger has become fluent in these risks in recent years, after she went on sabbatical and found herself in a solar weather wormhole. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer from this year’s Space Weather Workshop in Boulder, Colo.
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Categories: Minnesota, Business, Weather