REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA—A new artificial intelligence (AI) powered computer model called Dagger specially trained to predict exactly when and where Sun storm will attack Earth. This gives us time to prepare infrastructure that could be impacted, such as the power grid.
Reported from Space, Friday (7/4/2023), every minute of every day, the sun releases energy in the form of the solar wind, a constantly flowing stream of charged particles. The sun also occasionally emits powerful short-term bursts of radiation known as solar flares and ejects large clouds of solar plasma in eruptions called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
CMEs that hit Earth interact with our planet’s magnetic field, sometimes creating powerful geomagnetic storms. While these storms complete our planet’s aurora display, they can also have a negative impact, potentially causing power outages, satellite failures, and lost communications.
That’s where Dagger comes into play. This new AI computer model was developed by the public-private partnership Frontier Development Lab.
Dagger has studied NASA data to find links between solar activity and destructive geomagnetic activity through a process called deep learning. Developers say DAGGER can currently predict geomagnetic disturbances 30 minutes before they occur.
“With this AI, it is now possible to make fast and accurate global predictions and inform decisions in the event of a solar storm, thereby minimizing—or even preventing—the collapse of modern society,” said Vishal Upendran of the Intercollegiate Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India, in a statement. statement.
Upendran is lead author of a recent paper on the Dagger model published in the journal Space Weather.
While 30 minutes may not seem like much of a warning, it can be enough time for infrastructure systems to enforce safety protocols to avoid damage. In addition, the Dagger models are open source, which means that multiple users—say, power companies or satellite operators—can adapt the Dagger to their specific needs.
Dagger may have come at the right time as the sun is moving toward solar maximum, the culmination of its 11-year activity cycle. So advanced solar storm warnings will be very useful now and in the near future.
