The risk of Earth being hit by a super solar storm stronger than billions of atomic bombs

Scientists at Germany's Max Planck Institute warn that the Earth is facing a devastating super solar storm that threatens the entire satellite system and global power grid.

The most accurate study yet shows that these superstorms occur much more frequently than scientists previously predicted.

Instead of the old belief of a 1,000- to 10,000-year cycle, researchers now believe the phenomenon could occur every 100 years.

"This new data is an alarming reminder that even the most extreme events are part of the Sun's 'natural activity repertoire'," said Dr Natalie Krivova at the Max Planck Institute.

A super solar storm can release up to 1 octillion (one billion trillion) joules of energy. That’s 100 times more powerful than the Carrington Event, the most powerful solar storm ever recorded, which hit Earth in August 1859, knocking out parts of the telegraph network and even burning papers in offices at the time.

If a similar superstorm were to occur today, the consequences would be much more severe due to our increasing reliance on satellite communications networks.

Effects could include overloading entire power grids, knocking satellites out of orbit, crippling global communications networks and grounding planes around the world.

To reach this conclusion, an international research team led by the Max Planck Institute analyzed data from 56,450 Earth-like stars observed by NASA's Kepler telescope between 2009 and 2014.

They found 2,889 superstorms on 2,527 stars, suggesting a frequency of about once per century.

To deal with this risk, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch the Vigil satellite in 2031.

The satellite would be positioned at a 60-degree angle to the Sun to provide early warning of solar storms before they hit Earth, giving precious time to shut down power grids and satellites to minimize damage.