Russian physicist, specialist in the field of space plasma and director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Anatoly Petrukovich, on the eve of new magnetic storms that may come to Earth on the evening of August 9, explained how they are formed and why residents of the Earth may feel worse during magnetic storms.
As the scientist explained to Vechernyaya Moskva, magnetic storms are the reaction of the Earth's magnetosphere to a disturbance of the solar wind with dense plasma, which is sometimes called a magnetic cloud. Magnetic clouds arise on the Sun after solar flares.
This anomalous increase in the solar wind hits the Earth's magnetosphere, but this does not happen every time. If it does, oscillations of the Earth's magnetic field begin, which are also magnetic storms. Without equipment, people can only see it in the form of the northern lights, the remaining signs can only be recorded by instruments.
Magnetic storms can affect communication facilities, navigation systems, and satellites. But the impact on people's well-being has not been fully studied. Against the background of other health problems, the storm is far from the main reason here.
Petrukovich believes that changes in weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, or abnormal heat have a much greater impact on a person's condition during magnetic storms.
The mechanisms of the impact of electromagnetic disturbances on humans in general are poorly studied in world and Russian science. Some scientists believe, like Petrukovich, that they are not the main reason for the deterioration of well-being during magnetic storms. Other scientists believe that the human body still reacts to them.
Several effects of the impact of magnetic field disturbances arising from solar flares are assumed: these are increased blood pressure, decreased performance, headaches, increased anxiety, and exacerbation of chronic diseases, including allergies.
Also, in the scientific community, there is a point of view according to which a person instinctively perceives fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic background as a threat to life and begins to experience stress. At the same time, an increase in cortisol and adrenaline, stress hormones, leads to vasospasm and increased pressure.
Earlier, the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the IKI RAS and ISZF SB RAS recorded at the beginning of last week a rapid increase in the number of spots on the Sun, which often foreshadows flare activity. Then, on August 5, scientists registered two flares of the maximum class X.
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