An unprecedented increase in the flux of solar protons in near-Earth space has been recorded — the highest in the last ten years. According to data from the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Institute of Space Research (IKI RAN) and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISZF SO RAN), the level of radiation exposure exceeded the threshold value by almost 200 times.
According to experts, over the past 2.5 hours, the flux of protons with an energy of 10 MeV — a key indicator of the density of high-energy particles near Earth — has quadrupled and reached 1920 units. This value significantly exceeds the established threshold for issuing warnings about radiation hazards, which is 10 units.
At the same time, scientists note that the mechanisms that led to such high proton energy are not fully understood. Researchers continue to analyze the data to understand the nature of this phenomenon and its possible consequences for the technological infrastructure in space and on Earth.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that strong magnetic storms will hit the planet on January 20.