Tree rings tell the tale: Scientists discover the most powerful solar flare in the history of the Earth, which occurred 14300 years ago

Ancient French trees hold important information about one of the most powerful solar flares that ever occurred on Earth. Researchers found traces of this event by analyzing the radiocarbon composition of rings in the trunks of 140 semi-fossilized trees.

The discovered traces of high-energy solar particles that reached the Earth about 14,300 years ago indicate a potentially dangerous geomagnetic explosion that could lead to serious problems with satellites and power grids today. This is reported by New Scientist.

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Solar flares can affect the Earth through intense radiation and emissions of high-energy particles from the Sun's corona. These emissions are not always directed directly at the Earth, but if they do, auroras and changes in the planet's magnetic field can occur, leading to geomagnetic storms and potentially affecting electrical infrastructure.

A new study has found that the effects of solar activity can be recorded not only in astronomical observations but also in nature, in particular, in radioactive carbon traces. French scientists from the Collège de France discovered 140 semi-fossilized tree trunks that showed extremely high levels of radioactive carbon-14. This isotope is formed when cosmic rays interact with the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists determined that this anomaly in the carbon composition of the trunks occurred about 14,300 years ago.

By analyzing this carbon record and comparing it to other measurements, such as the beryllium content of a Greenland glacier, which is also linked to cosmic rays, the researchers suggest that the solar flare that occurred 14,300 years ago was very powerful and could have serious consequences for modern infrastructure, including satellites and power grids, today. This study will help to better understand the impact of the Sun on the Earth in the past and may help to develop measures to protect modern technological infrastructure from possible solar flares in the future.

Earlier, scientists determined when the Sun will explode and take all life with it.

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