PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 15, 2023--

Rumours of a global internet outage due to a severe solar storm have been swirling online, but how true are they? With plenty of us relying on internet access on a daily basis for our work, entertainment and communication needs, the rumour of an internet apocalypse has left many worried. Throughout June, the possibility that we could lose internet for months has been spreading. But, the very possibility first gained public attention back in 2021 when computer scientist Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi at the University of California Irvine warned that a catastrophic solar storm could occur within the next 10 years. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It seems the space agency NASA is taking the risk seriously and launched the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) which revealed clues about the sun’s atmosphere after successfully navigating through the powerful solar winds generated there. What is a solar storm and how could it cause an internet apocalypse? A solar storm refers to the atmospheric effects we experience on Earth that originate from the sun, typically caused by solar flares. During such storms, a stream of an electromagnetic field is directed towards Earth which causes the aurora borealis. NASA believes solar storms run on an 11-year cycle with their frequency varying. Their severity can also vary, with stronger geomagnetic storms causing interruptions to satellite, radio and internet functions. A 2011 geomagnetic storm interrupted radio signals in South China, meanwhile in 1859 a particularly intense storm caused auroras to appear in the skies all around the world. Should such an event strike today, there could be a worldwide blackout causing disruption for months, with its effects predicted to be 20 times that of a catastrophic hurricane due to its impact on the supply chain of essentials like foods and medication. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Martin Quin Pollard HANGZHOU, China China won the first gold esports medal in Asian Games history in

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By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo ABUJA (Reuters) -Global demand for all forms of energy is forecast to rise by 23% through 2045,

Scientists have found a vast planet, so large that it should not exist. The planet appears to be too big for its sun, and therefore calls into question our understanding of how planets and solar systems form, according to the researchers who found it. The planet is more than 13 times as massive as Earth. It orbits around a star that is nine times less massive than our Sun. As such, the ratio between the two of them is 100 times higher than it is between the Earth and our sun. It is the first time that a planet with such a high mass has been seen orbiting a star with such a low amount of mass. And the discrepancy is so large that scientists thought such a planet could not exist. “This discovery really drives home the point of just how little we know about the universe,” said Suvrath Mahadevan, from Penn State. “We wouldn’t expect a planet this heavy around such a low-mass star to exist.” When stars are formed, out of large clouds of gas and dust, that material sticks with the star as a disc that orbits around it. Planets can then form out of that extra material, and go on to make a planetary system like our own. But science would suggest that the disc around the star in the new paper, known as LHS 3154, would not have enough material to make a planet so large. “The planet-forming disc around the low-mass star LHS 3154 is not expected to have enough solid mass to make this planet,” Mahadevan said. “But it’s out there, so now we need to reexamine our understanding of how planets and stars form.” The finding is reported in a new paper, ‘A Neptune-mass exoplanet in close orbit around a very low mass star challenges formation models’, published in Science. Read More Astronomers find unprecedented ‘disc’ around distant planet Planet too big for its sun ‘is challenging the idea of how solar systems form’ Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets are punching holes in edge of space

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday sued a nonprofit that fights hate speech and

Selena Gomez is the latest celebrity meme template after an image of her looking cosy in a blanket when viral online. It all started when a photo of the singer and Only Murders in the Building star wrapped in a blanket and as she stared off into the distance in a candid shot that looked both mysterious and dramatic. The snap was shared on the Instagram Story of her friend Dominic J West but soon found its way on social media as it became the new viral meme on X, formerly known as Twitter. The photo below is the one that has everyone meme-ing: Here is a round-up of the best memes: The meme has become so viral that it has managed to reach Gomez who was able to laugh at herself and the different memes from her candid photo - so much so that she even shared some to her Instagram Stories - here are the two she shared: Good to see she's loving the people's creativity with the meme. Elsewhere, 26 of the funniest memes about Trump's latest indictment, the funniest Kane memes as he completes Bayern Munich transfer, and ‘Girl Math’ is the funniest money meme of 2023. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Warzone Caldera is shutting down on Sept. 21, 2023, and all original Warzone skins, cosmetics, and movement will disappear.

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