When a Solar storm hits Earth- nightmare revealed by space weather expert

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Often, people take solar storms lightly. And why would they not? Most of the time, when there is a solar storm, all people see are the fantastic light shows called auroras in the sky. But the reality of solar storms is way more sinister and dangerous. And there are recent examples to show their impact on human infrastructure. Just last month, 40 out of 49 Starlink satellites sent to the lower orbit by Elon Musk led SpaceX burned down after a solar storm struck Earth. Even more recently, earlier this week an X-class solar flare erupted on the Sun and resulted in temporary shortwave radio blackout on Earth. And this is still just scratching the surface of what a solar storm is capable of. Read on to find out what a space weather expert has to say about the potential danger of a solar storm.

Piyush Mehta, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, penned down an article on The Conversation, where he highlighted the dangers of solar storms, also known as geomagnetic storms. “I study the hazards space weather poses to space-based assets and how scientists can improve the models and prediction of space weather to protect against these hazards”, said Mehta. He further described the impact of solar storms saying, “When space weather reaches Earth, it triggers many complicated processes that can cause a lot of trouble for anything in orbit. And engineers like me are working to better understand these risks and defend satellites against them”.

While geomagnetic storms are not particularly dangerous to us humans or most life forms on Earth due to the planet's own magnetic field and ozone layer which absorbs most of the harmful radiation, but that does not apply to the satellites above the