Northern Lights have a dark side, scientists warn as damage on the ground is discovered

NASA scientists are warning of a hidden, dark side to the dazzling Northern Lights.

The visual phenomenon, also known as Aurora Borealis, can cause long-term damage to critical infrastructure at ground level.

The impact of auroras on Earth’s power grid and satellites during major geomagnetic storms has long been known.

NASA scientists have now discovered that the electrical currents associated with geomagnetic storms can damage natural gas pipelines and undersea cables.

NASA scientists warn in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences that the Northern Lights are quietly shortening the lifespan of pipelines that supply heat and electricity to homes around the world.

According to a new research report, the aurora borealis could damage all forms of infrastructure that conduct electricity on Earth.

While more powerful shocks create stronger currents and brighter aurorae, more frequent and less powerful shocks can also cause damage.

“Auroras and geomagnetically induced currents are caused by similar space weather factors,” explains Dr. Denny Oliveira of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, lead author of the paper.

“The aurora is a visual warning that electrical currents in space can generate these geomagnetically induced currents on the ground.”

During severe geomagnetic storms, the risk of damage to nuclear infrastructure is greater.

The most recent major geomagnetic storm occurred in May 2024, when we saw a dramatic increase in the number of Northern Lights sightings in areas where they normally do not occur.

Scientists called it the most powerful storm in the past twenty years.

“The most intense damaging effects on the electrical infrastructure probably occurred in March 1989, after a severe geomagnetic storm. The Hydro-Quebec system in Canada was down for almost nine hours, leaving millions of people without electricity,” Oliveira added.

“But weaker, more frequent events such as interplanetary shocks could eventually pose a threat to Earth’s conductors.

“Our work shows that significant geoelectric currents occur quite often after shocks, and that these deserve attention.”

PREDICTING WHEN THEY WILL STRIKE

Scientists explain that frontal interplanetary shocks create stronger geomagnetic currents than oblique shocks.

The team believes they can predict the angles of these shocks up to two hours before they hit Earth.

This gives electricity grids a head start in protecting vulnerable infrastructure before the worst shocks occur.

One thing that electrical infrastructure managers can do to protect their equipment is to control a few specific electrical circuits when a shock alarm is triggered

Dr. Denny Oliveira of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

“One thing that electrical infrastructure operators can do to protect their equipment is to manage a few specific electrical circuits when a shock alarm is triggered,” Oliveira continued.

“This prevents geomagnetically induced currents from shortening the life of the equipment.”

The NASA team has called on energy companies to make their data accessible to scientists.

They said the data they currently have is insufficient.

“Current data has only been collected at one location, namely the Mäntsälä natural gas pipeline system [in Finland]”, warned Oliveira.

“Although Mäntsälä is in a critical location, it does not provide a global picture.

Furthermore, there are several days missing from the Mäntsälä data during the period under investigation, which required us to remove many events from our shock database.

“It would be great if global energy companies made their data accessible to scientists for research.”