Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures · Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures

Space Weather and the Question of Human Survivability (with Dr. Tom Berger)

·1 hr 32 min·5 clips

Andrew Fracknoy introduces a lecture on space weather and human survivability in Silicon Valley.

This Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture features Dr. Lisa Upton, a solar physicist from the Southwest Research Institute, discussing space weather's threats to modern civilization. Host Andrew Fraknoi, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Foothill College, introduces the lecture co-sponsored by organizations including the SETI Institute and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Dr. Upton's expertise lies in solar activity and its impacts on Earth's technological infrastructure. The lecture defines space weather as dynamic conditions created by the Sun's emission of energy and magnetized plasma. A central topic is the Carrington Event of 1859, a massive solar storm that caused brilliant auroras and telegraph system failures. Dr. Upton analyzes modern vulnerabilities, emphasizing how a similar event today could induce destructive currents in power grids and pipelines. She references specific studies projecting potential multi-trillion-dollar economic damage and recovery times spanning years. The talk details the science of coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of solar plasma that drive the most severe storms. Dr. Upton explains the crucial role of Earth's magnetic field in shielding the planet but also in channeling energy toward the poles. A surprising insight is the "Halloween Storms" of 2003, which caused satellite anomalies, aircraft communication blackouts, and even a temporary transformer failure in Sweden. The lecture notes that while aviation and GPS are at risk, submarine internet cables are particularly vulnerable to geomagnetically induced currents. Dr. Upton describes ongoing efforts to improve space weather forecasting using satellites like the DSCOVR observatory. She presents models showing how different orientations of a storm's magnetic field can lead to dramatically different impacts on Earth. A memorable point is that societal reliance on precise timing from GPS satellites, critical for financial transactions, could be disrupted for days. The lecture stresses that technological advancement has paradoxically increased civilization's susceptibility to these natural events. The tone is educational and urgent, delivered in a formal academic lecture style with supporting slides and data. It is a narrative of scientific understanding woven with clear assessments of societal risk. This episode is ideal for astronomy enthusiasts, professionals in infrastructure or emergency management, and anyone concerned about planetary-scale resilience. Listeners seeking casual entertainment or purely historical astronomy stories might find the technical risk analysis less engaging.

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