Solar Flare Frenzy: Earth’s Brush with the Biggest Geomagnetic Storm in 20 Years

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Kind: captions
Language: en

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This is Spaceime Series 28 episode 61


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for broadcast on the 21st of May


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2025. Coming up on Spaceime, the biggest


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solar flare this year, the biggest


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geomagnetic storm in the past 20 years,


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and the most extreme solar storm known


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to have hit the Earth. All that and more


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coming up on Spaceime.


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Welcome to Spaceime with Stuart Garry.


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[Music]




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Well, we've just experienced the largest


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solar flare so far this year, producing


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an X2.7 class event. The massive


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eruption emanated from a newly appeared


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active sunspot region cataloged as


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AR14087.


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It's one of two X-class flares and


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several smaller M-class events all


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coming from the same region. Now,


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luckily, they weren't pointed directly


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towards the Earth, leaving the planet on


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the outer edge of the strike zone. But,


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of course, that's now changed as this


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active region has now rotated to


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directly face the Earth. The event


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happened as the sun reaches solar


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maximum, the climax of its 11-year solar


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cycle. Solar flares are powerful blasts


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of energy erupting from sunspots on the


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sun's surface. Sunspots are slightly


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cooler regions on the sun's surface, the


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photosphere caused by magnetic field


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lines from deep inside the sun, breaking


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through the surface and looping out into


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space. Now, because the sun is fluid


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rather than solid, different latitudes


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rotate at different rates, and this


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causes the magnetic field lines to twist


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and snap. When they reconnect, a process


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called magnetic reconnection, it


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triggers pathful explosions near the


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surface known as solar flares. Solar


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flares are classified according to their


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strength. The smallest ones are B-class,


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that's followed by C, then M, and the


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largest AXclass flares. It's similar to


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the RTER scale used for earthquakes,


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with each letter representing a 10-fold


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logarithmic increase in energy output.


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So, an X-class flare is 10 times as


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strong as an M-class flare and 100 times


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as strong as a C-class flare. Within


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each letter class, there's a finer scale


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from 1 to 9. C-class flares are too weak


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to noticeably affect the Earth. But


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M-class flares can cause brief radio


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blackouts at the poles and minor


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radiation storms that could endanger


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people in space. Although X is the last


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letter, these flares can have more than


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10 times the power of an X1 class, so


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they can go much higher than an X9. The


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most powerful flare on record was back


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in 2003 during the last solar maximum.


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In fact, it was so powerful it


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overloaded the sensors measuring it.


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They cut out at X17, and the flare was


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later estimated to be about an X45.


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A powerful X-class flare like that can


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create long lasting radiation storms


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which can harm and even destroy


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satellites, give airline passengers


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flying near the poles dose of radiation


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scramble communication and navigation


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systems and even overload power grids


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causing widespread blackouts on the


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ground. The most powerful solar flares


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can trigger chronal mass ejections, huge


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blasts of the sun's material, including


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protons, electrons, magnetic field, and


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helium nuclei. Now, our current solar


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cycle number 25 began back in December


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2019 and so should be reaching solar max


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around now. This is when the sun reaches


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its most violent phase with lots of


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sunspot activity and consequently lots


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of solar flares and coronal mass


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ejections. A number of sunspots are


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predicted to reach a peak of around 115


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by July this year, making the current


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solar cycle weaker than average and only


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slightly more active than the previous


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solar cycle 24.


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During each of these roughly 11 year


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solar cycles, the sun's magnetic field


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flips in polarity. North pole becomes


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south and south pole north. And this


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flip occurs when the solar cycle reaches


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solar minimum with the next flip


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probably occurring around


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2030. This is spacetime. Still to come,


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the biggest geomagnetic storm in 20


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years and the most extreme solar storm


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ever known to have hit the earth. All


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that and more still to come on


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[Music]


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Spaceime. While spectacular, the most


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recent geomagnetic storm events we've


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seen pale into insignificance when


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compared to the solar storm that hit the


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Earth just a year ago, which has now


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officially been listed as the biggest in


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20


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years. Amazingly, that event coincided


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with the inaugural space weather


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tabletop exercise. The exercise was


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meant to be a training event where


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experts could work through realtime


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ramifications of a major geomagnetic


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storm, a global disruption to Earth's


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magnetic field. Now, as we mentioned


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earlier, geomagnetic storms can decimate


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satellites, overload electrical power


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grids, and expose astronauts to


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dangerous levels of radiation. So,


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minimizing the impact of such storms


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requires close coordination. And so,


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this meeting was a chance for scientists


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to practice. But then their simulation


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turned into reality. The director of


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NASA's space weather program, Jamie


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Favorvers, says the plan was to run


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through a hypothetical scenario, finding


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where existing processes worked and


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where they needed improving. But then


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this hypothetical scenario was


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interrupted by the real thing. On May


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the 10th, 2024, the first G5 or severe


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geomagnetic storm in more than two


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decades hit planet Earth. The event


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named the Ganon storm in memory of the


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leading space weather physicist Jennifer


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Ganon didn't cause any catastrophic


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damages. But a year on key insights into


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the Ganon storm are helping scientists


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understand and prepare for future


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geomagnetic events. The Ganon storm had


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effects both on and off our planet. On


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the ground, some high voltage power


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lines tripped, transformers overheated,


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and GPS guided tractors veered off


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course in the Midwest United States,


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further disrupting spring planting that


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had already been delayed by heavy rains.


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In the air, the threat of high radiation


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exposure as well as communications and


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navigation losses forced numerous


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transatlantic and trans-pacific flights


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to change course. During the storm,


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Earth's upper atmospheric layer, the


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thermosphere, heated to unusually high


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temperatures. In fact, at 60 km in


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altitude. The temperature, which


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typically peaks at around 650° C,


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surpassed over


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1,150°. NASA's global scale observations


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of the Lemon Disc or Gold Mission


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observed the atmosphere expanding from


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the heat generated to create a strong


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wind that lofted heavy nitrogen


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particles much higher into space. Now,


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in orbit, the expanded atmosphere


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increased drag on thousands of


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satellites. NASA's ISAT 2 lost altitude


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and wound up entering safe mode, while


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NASA's Colorado inner radiationbuilt


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experiment Cubat was forced to de-orbit


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prematurely. Other spacecraft such as


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the European Space Agency Sentinel


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mission required more power to maintain


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their orbital altitude, and they were


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forced to perform maneuvers to avoid


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collisions with space debris. The storm


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also dramatically changed the structure


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of the Earth's ionosphere. A dense zone


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of the ionosphere that normally covers


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the equator at night dipped downwards


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towards the south pole, forming a sort


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of check mark shape and causing a


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temporary gap near the equator. The


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Ganon storm also rocked Earth's


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magnetosphere, magnetic bubble that


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surrounds the planet. Data from NASA


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missions MMS and thermos Artemus saw


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giant curling waves of particles and


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rolled up magnetic fields along the edge


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of the coronal mass ejections. And these


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waves were perfectly sized to


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periodically dump extra magnetic energy


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and mass into the magnetosphere upon


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impact. In the process, creating the


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largest electrical current seen in the


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magnetosphere in 20 years. Incoming


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energy and particles from the sun also


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created two new temporary belts of


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energetic particles within the


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magnetosphere. These belts formed


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between the existing Van Allen radiation


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belts which permanently surround the


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Earth. The storm also ignited auroral


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activity around the globe, including at


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lower latitudes, where these celestial


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light shows are rare. NASA's


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aurorasaurus project was flooded with


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more than 6,000 observer reports from


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over 55 countries on all seven


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continents. Photographers helped


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scientists better understand why the


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aurora observed throughout Japan were


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magenta rather than the typical read in


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color. Researchers studied hundreds of


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photos and found that the auroray was


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surprisingly high, around 1,000 km above


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the ground. That's around 320 km higher


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than red auroray typically appear. In a


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paper published in the journal


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Scientific Reports, the authors found


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the peculiar color of the auroray likely


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resulted from a mix of red and blue


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aurora produced by oxygen and nitrogen


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molecules lofted higher than usual as


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the Ganon storm heated and expanded the


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upper atmosphere. And impacts of the


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sun's amped up solar activity didn't end


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in Earth's space. The solar region that


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sparked the Gaton storm eventually


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rotated away from our planet and


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redirected its outburst towards the


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planet Mars. As energetic particles from


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the sun struck the Martian atmosphere,


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NASA's Maven Orbiter watched the aurora


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engulf the red planet from May the 14th


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through to the 20th and solar particles


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overwhelmed the star camera on NASA's


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Mars Odyssey orbiter, causing the camera


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to cut out for almost an hour.


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Meanwhile, down on the Martian surface,


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images from the navigation cameras on


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NASA's Curiosity rover were freckled


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with snow, streaks, and specks caused by


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the charged particles. Curiosity's


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radiation assessment detector recorded


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the biggest surge of radiation since the


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rover landed on the red planet Mars Gale


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Crater back in 2012. Now, had astronauts


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been there, they would have received a


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radiation dose of around 8,100 micro


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grays. That's equivalent to some 30


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chest X-rays. The Ganon storm spread


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Aurora to unusually low latitudes. In


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fact, it's been called the best


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documented geomagnetic storm in history.


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And the data captured during this


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historic event will continue to be


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analyzed for years to come, revealing


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new lessons about the nature of


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geomagnetic storms and how best to


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weather them. This report from NASA TV.


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In May 2024, a spectacular multicolored


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light show flooded the skies across the


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world. These displays are known as the


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auroras. They're usually seen near the


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polar regions, but that May, sky


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watchers spotted the glowing lights far


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from Earth's


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poles. People were witnessing the


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biggest geomagnetic storm in over 20


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years. This storm was so intense. It was


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the most intense in two decades. This


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was one of those large events that we've


00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.670
been talking about for years. It all


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began from this active region on the


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sun. Active regions are known for having


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intense magnetic fields and the more


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tangled those fields become, the more


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likely they are to erupt. We watched the


00:11:16.959 --> 00:11:19.750
active region evolve and we thought that


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this might be something to watch and


00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.230
might be something active. Eventually,


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the active region unleashed a chain of


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huge solar eruptions directly towards


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us. What made it so strong was the fact


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that there was so much energy put off by


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the sun. It was really great conditions


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for the perfect storm. On May 10th, the


00:11:40.959 --> 00:11:43.509
eruptions reached Earth, triggering a


00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.509
global disruption to Earth's magnetic


00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.430
field, known as a geomagnetic storm. It


00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:52.710
was rated a G5, the rarest and strongest


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type. The powerful storm pushed auroras


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to appear in unusual places like Arizona


00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:01.310
in the United States and Perth in


00:12:01.320 --> 00:12:04.150
Australia. That energy interacted with


00:12:04.160 --> 00:12:06.310
the Earth and created the aurora and


00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:08.710
caused all sorts of disturbances that we


00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:10.949
felt here on the ground. The storm


00:12:10.959 --> 00:12:13.509
caused some high voltage lines to trip


00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:15.750
and transformers to overheat.


00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:18.470
transatlantic flights rerouted due to


00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:21.190
risks of high radiation exposure and


00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:23.150
communication and navigation


00:12:23.160 --> 00:12:25.750
disruptions. Further up, NASA saw


00:12:25.760 --> 00:12:28.069
Earth's upper atmosphere get unusually


00:12:28.079 --> 00:12:31.350
hot. The temperature 100 m up in the


00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:33.870
thermosphere usually peaks at


00:12:33.880 --> 00:12:37.509
1,200° F, but during the storm, it


00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:38.590
reached


00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:42.069
2,100° F. The heating caused the


00:12:42.079 --> 00:12:45.069
atmosphere to expand which affected


00:12:45.079 --> 00:12:47.590
satellites. There were thousands of


00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.829
satellites that had to move their orbits


00:12:49.839 --> 00:12:52.550
because the storm was coming through.


00:12:52.560 --> 00:12:55.350
The storm also affected the space beyond


00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.990
Earth. It created two new temporary


00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.590
belts of energetic particles around our


00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:03.190
planet, adding to Earth's two permanent


00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:06.069
ones, which are known as the Van Allen


00:13:06.079 --> 00:13:08.710
radiation belts. The particles in these


00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.030
belts can harm orbiting satellites and


00:13:11.040 --> 00:13:13.750
astronauts heading for deep space. So


00:13:13.760 --> 00:13:16.949
NASA studies them closely. As the sun


00:13:16.959 --> 00:13:19.350
rotated, the active region eventually


00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.990
moved away from Earth and redirected its


00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:25.430
outbursts towards Mars. On Mars, NASA's


00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:27.990
Curiosity rover saw solar particles from


00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.030
the storm. The rover also recorded the


00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:33.269
biggest surge of radiation since it


00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:36.310
landed in 2012. If an astronaut had been


00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.310
on the Martian surface, they would have


00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:40.629
received a radiation dose equivalent to


00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:43.150
30 chess X-rays at


00:13:43.160 --> 00:13:45.829
once. With spacecraft throughout the


00:13:45.839 --> 00:13:48.150
solar system and modern cameras in so


00:13:48.160 --> 00:13:50.470
many people's pockets, the storm was the


00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.590
most well doumented in history. There's


00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.310
lots of data. We're able to actually use


00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.230
that data to understand things and


00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.069
predict more and more how this is going


00:14:00.079 --> 00:14:02.550
to affect our Earth. Although the storm


00:14:02.560 --> 00:14:05.030
passed within days, NASA will continue


00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:07.430
to learn from the observations for years


00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:09.910
to come, helping us better prepare for


00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:11.910
the next big storm. And in that report


00:14:11.920 --> 00:14:13.990
from NASA TV, we heard from NASA


00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.470
helopysicist Kelly Cor. This is


00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.910
spaceime. Still to come, the most


00:14:19.920 --> 00:14:21.990
extreme solar storm ever known to have


00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.829
hit the Earth. And later in the science


00:14:23.839 --> 00:14:26.069
report, a new study claims people who


00:14:26.079 --> 00:14:28.710
work long hours could have altered brain


00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:31.189
structures. All that and more still to


00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:35.100
come on


00:14:35.110 --> 00:14:41.940
[Music]




00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:50.069
Spaceime. New researchers uncovered the


00:14:50.079 --> 00:14:52.470
strongest solar event ever recorded in


00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:54.230
the process rewriting science's


00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.230
understanding of space weather and


00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.030
radiocarbon dating. This new finding


00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:00.949
expands the timeline and intensity of


00:15:00.959 --> 00:15:03.030
known solar activity and sets a new


00:15:03.040 --> 00:15:05.069
upper boundary for such solar


00:15:05.079 --> 00:15:07.189
phenomenon. The study's authors


00:15:07.199 --> 00:15:09.030
discovered an extreme spike in


00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:11.870
radiocarbon corresponding to the


00:15:11.880 --> 00:15:15.110
12,350 BCE during the dusk of the last


00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.389
ice age. The study by Celia Gulabeko and


00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:20.629
Ilia Uzoskin from the University of Ulo


00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.470
in Finland utilized their newly


00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.230
developed chemistry climate model which


00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:25.990
was specifically designed to reconstruct


00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:27.990
solar particle storms under ancient


00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.629
global climatic conditions. The model


00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.629
confirmed that the detected solar event


00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:35.269
was approximately 18% stronger than the


00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:38.389
notorious year 775 event which until now


00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.470
had been the strongest solar storm ever


00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.670
recorded using tree ring archives. Leeno


00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:45.430
says that compared to the largest event


00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:47.030
in the modern satellite era, which is


00:15:47.040 --> 00:15:50.110
the 2005 particle storm, the ancient


00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.430
12,350 B.CE event was more than 500


00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.150
times more intense. Other large known


00:15:56.160 --> 00:15:57.990
solar particle events occurred around


00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:04.030
the years 994, 663 B.CE, 5259 B.CE, and


00:16:04.040 --> 00:16:07.030
7176 B.CE. And a few other candidates


00:16:07.040 --> 00:16:09.350
are still being investigated. The new


00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.350
model was verified using wood samples


00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.509
recently found in the French Alps dating


00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:17.430
back some 4,300 years. Solar particle


00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.590
storms are rare, but when they occur,


00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:21.829
they bombard the earth with an enormous


00:16:21.839 --> 00:16:24.389
amount of high energy particles. In


00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:26.550
comparison, the famous Carrington solar


00:16:26.560 --> 00:16:29.509
storm of 1859 was a different kind of


00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:31.590
event and not accompanied by a solar


00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:33.749
particle storm. Gulabeno says the


00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:37.110
ancient event in 12,350 B.CE CE is the


00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:39.189
only known extreme solar particle event


00:16:39.199 --> 00:16:41.509
outside the holene epoch which is the


00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.790
past 12,000 years of stable warm


00:16:43.800 --> 00:16:46.150
climate. With this model, the authors


00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:47.670
were able to assess the strength,


00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:49.590
timing, and terrestrial effects of what


00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:51.350
is now the most powerful and extreme


00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:54.230
solar particle event ever known. Solar


00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.230
particle storms can greatly enhance the


00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.550
normal production of cosmogenic isotopes


00:16:58.560 --> 00:17:00.629
like radiocarbon 14 in the atmosphere,


00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:02.470
which are produced by galactic cosmic


00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:05.510
rays. Such enhanced production preserved


00:17:05.520 --> 00:17:07.909
in annual tree rings serves as a clear


00:17:07.919 --> 00:17:10.230
cosmic timestamp, making possible


00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:13.350
absolute dating of tree samples. These


00:17:13.360 --> 00:17:15.590
dramatic spikes, known as Miyaki events


00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:17.270
after the Japanese researcher first


00:17:17.280 --> 00:17:19.270
discovered them, offer invaluable data


00:17:19.280 --> 00:17:21.029
for scientists studying both solar


00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.029
activity, ancient Earth systems, and


00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.829
space climate. Miyaki events allow


00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:27.990
scientists to pin out exact calendar


00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.669
years in floating archaeological


00:17:29.679 --> 00:17:32.549
chronologies. Radiocarbon signals from


00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.230
such events have already enabled


00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.310
researchers to precisely date Viking


00:17:36.320 --> 00:17:37.669
settlements in New Foundland and


00:17:37.679 --> 00:17:40.150
Neolithic communities in Greece. The


00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:41.909
findings are revising science's


00:17:41.919 --> 00:17:44.230
understanding of solar physics and space


00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.310
weather extremes. And this event


00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:49.190
establishes a new worst case scenario.


00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:51.350
Understanding its scale is critical for


00:17:51.360 --> 00:17:53.270
evaluating the risks posed by future


00:17:53.280 --> 00:17:55.270
solar storms to modern infrastructure


00:17:55.280 --> 00:17:57.350
such as satellites, power grids, and


00:17:57.360 --> 00:18:00.230
communication and navigation systems.


00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:01.600
This is space


00:18:01.610 --> 00:18:16.750
[Music]


00:18:16.760 --> 00:18:19.110
time. And time out of tech. Another


00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:20.470
brief look at some of the other stories


00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.390
making news in science this week with a


00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:25.190
science report. A new study claims that


00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:27.270
people who work long hours could have


00:18:27.280 --> 00:18:29.909
altered brain structures. A report in


00:18:29.919 --> 00:18:31.110
the Journal of Occupational


00:18:31.120 --> 00:18:32.950
Environmental Medicine looked at brain


00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:35.190
scans of 110 participants who worked


00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.830
either 52 or more hours a week or a


00:18:37.840 --> 00:18:40.950
standard 35 to 40hour week. They found


00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.710
that when compared with those who work


00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.310
standard hours, those who worked


00:18:44.320 --> 00:18:46.470
excessive hours had changes in brain


00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.710
regions associated with working memory,


00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:50.470
problem solving, and emotional


00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.870
regulation. Now, while this study only


00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:54.950
provides a snapshot, can't be used to


00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:56.630
show cause and effect, authors say


00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.470
previous research had linked overwork


00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.230
with various health issues, and these


00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.070
results can help provide more insights


00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:04.909
into overwork and our


00:19:04.919 --> 00:19:07.830
bodies. Engineers have invented a smart


00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:09.990
sponge-like device that can capture


00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:12.710
water from thin air. A report in the


00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:14.789
journal of cleaner production claims the


00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:16.950
system uses the sun's energy and works


00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:18.710
even in low humidity where other


00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.870
technologies such as fog harvesting and


00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:23.350
radiative cooling have struggled. They


00:19:23.360 --> 00:19:25.110
say the water from their device remained


00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:26.549
effective across a broad range of


00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.029
humidity levels from 30 to 90% and


00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:34.230
temperature levels between 5 and 55° C.


00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:36.549
A new study claims that a ban on


00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:38.870
smartphones and social media access for


00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:40.870
kids doesn't promote a healthy use of


00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:43.510
technology by children. The findings


00:19:43.520 --> 00:19:45.270
reported in the British Medical Journal


00:19:45.280 --> 00:19:46.870
claims the focus should move to a


00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.549
rightsbased approach with age


00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:50.549
appropriate design and education, one


00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.150
that protects kids from harm while


00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.990
developing the right skills to help them


00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.630
participate in a digital society. The


00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:58.549
authors say that blanket restrictions on


00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.870
technology like smartphones are a stop


00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:02.950
gap solution that does little to support


00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.110
a child's longerterm healthy engagement


00:20:05.120 --> 00:20:08.070
with digital spaces across school, home,


00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:10.190
and other


00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:12.549
occasions. Australian telecommunications


00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:14.630
giant Telstra has begun testing the


00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:16.870
Starlink broadband satellite network for


00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.789
remote customers beyond the conventional


00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.270
cell phone network. With the details,


00:20:21.280 --> 00:20:23.029
we're joined by technology editor Alex


00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:26.070
Sahara from techadvice.life. life. Yeah.


00:20:26.080 --> 00:20:27.350
Well, they've been testing their


00:20:27.360 --> 00:20:29.990
Starlink capability to send text


00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.750
messages to people and they're going to


00:20:31.760 --> 00:20:33.830
launch this in Australia later this


00:20:33.840 --> 00:20:35.830
year. Now, this mirrors what Verizon did


00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:38.310
in the US with their ability to send


00:20:38.320 --> 00:20:40.470
messages via Star Link. This is


00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.710
augmented over what Apple launched a


00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.870
couple of years ago or the iPhone 14


00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:46.149
which has now been extended to the


00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:48.630
iPhone 13 to send emergency messages via


00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:50.549
SOS and now of course you can send other


00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.870
messages and use find my let your


00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:54.149
relatives see where you are. But in


00:20:54.159 --> 00:20:55.350
other parts of the world like Australia


00:20:55.360 --> 00:20:57.029
and New Zealand and phone companies are


00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:59.029
like, "Wow, well, we can send messages


00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.270
and hopefully eventually soon also make


00:21:01.280 --> 00:21:03.270
phone calls via satellite networks from


00:21:03.280 --> 00:21:05.430
people are outside of the traditional


00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:07.510
cellular networks." And this is a very


00:21:07.520 --> 00:21:09.909
handy capability. So Telstra has sent


00:21:09.919 --> 00:21:12.470
55,000 text messages in its testing


00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.789
phase. And so this is basic testing. You


00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.549
don't have to be doing this for


00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.789
emergency purposes, but it is for hard


00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:20.710
to reach places where the network


00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.789
doesn't exist. You know, this is part of


00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:24.789
the ability for regional Australians


00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.070
primarily because they're the ones who


00:21:26.080 --> 00:21:28.549
live outside of the uh traditional 4G


00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:31.110
and 5G mobile network coverage. And they


00:21:31.120 --> 00:21:33.270
did also send 500 plus messages in the


00:21:33.280 --> 00:21:34.950
live trial and they've been also sending


00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:37.110
GPS coordinates and emerges via text


00:21:37.120 --> 00:21:39.750
message. So, this is an awesome update


00:21:39.760 --> 00:21:41.830
to the ability for the world to stay in


00:21:41.840 --> 00:21:44.390
contact wherever you are. and uh the new


00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.310
ubiquitous communications that we've


00:21:46.320 --> 00:21:48.070
sort of I guess dreamed of for for years


00:21:48.080 --> 00:21:50.470
ever since we've had satellite calls via


00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:52.710
Aridium and then uh the mobile networks


00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:53.990
that have grown and grown and this is


00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.909
the next logical step and given the fact


00:21:55.919 --> 00:21:58.149
that Elon Musk wants to get us all to


00:21:58.159 --> 00:22:00.310
Mars. No doubt at some point soon this


00:22:00.320 --> 00:22:01.990
will be interplanetary as well but for


00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:03.669
the time being we're still firmly


00:22:03.679 --> 00:22:05.270
anchored here on Earth. That's Alex


00:22:05.280 --> 00:22:09.470
Sahara from techadvice.live


00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:22.430
[Music]


00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:25.669
life. And that's the show for now.


00:22:25.679 --> 00:22:27.669
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