<p>The sun’s power isn’t limited to lighting and heating our home planet — it could create chaos by way of its coronal mass ejections (CME). These intense releases of magnetic energy can, on rare occasions, cause geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. In 1989, a CME knocked out the power grid across Quebec for nine hours, with an estimated economic loss of $13.2 million.</p><div class="vert-display-toggle collapsible relative flex flex-col items-center "><div class="vert-unit mt-4 mb-3 top-20"><div ad-type="mobile-desktop" class="ad-wrapper vert min-h-boombox flex items-start justify-center" data-ad-mapping="inline" data-ad-slot="Discover/inline-ad" id="div-inline-ad-0"></div></div><span aria-label="Advertisement" class="text-ad mt-1 text-[11px] uppercase">Advertisement</span></div><p>For years, researchers have speculated on how a similar blackout would play out globally. According to a new study in the journal <em>Space Weather</em>, an event engulfing London, Paris, Moscow and most of mainland United States would be economically devastating. The outage would essentially halt business, transportation and government operations for days or weeks. If this scenario, the most extreme of the four the researchers developed, ever played out, the U.S. economy could lose up to $41.5 billion each day.</p><h2>Biggest U.S. Losers Per Day</h2><figure class="fr-image-container fr-full"><img srcset="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/19545/Who_loses_the_most_from_CMEs_-_Discover-s.webp 480w, https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/19545/Who_loses_the_most_from_CMEs_-_Discover-m.webp 660w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 480px, 660px" src="https://cdn.discovermagazine.com/assets/image/19545/Who_loses_the_most_from_CMEs_-_Discover-s.jpg" title="Who loses the most from CMEs - Discover" loading="lazy" data-id="19545"><figcaption class="fr-figcaption"><p class="fr-caption">(Credit: Discover)</p><p class="fr-reference">Discover</p></figcaption></figure><hr><p><em>[This article originally appeared in print as "When the Lights Go Out."]</em></p><div data-embedid="9d18565e-af4d-4ddd-bfc5-2dbf51c5675e" id="insticator-embed-temp"></div>

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The sun could create chaos by way of its coronal mass.

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When the Sun Turns Off the Lights

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Mark Barna

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The sun’s power isn’t limited to lighting and heating our home planet — it could create chaos by way of its coronal mass ejections (CME). These intense releases of magnetic energy can, on rare occasions, cause geomagnetic disturbances on Earth. In 1989, a CME knocked out the power grid across Quebec for nine hours, with an estimated economic loss of $13.2 million. For years, researchers have speculated on how a similar blackout would play out globally. According to a new study in the journal Space Weather, an event engulfing London, Paris, Moscow and most of mainland United States would be economically devastating. The outage would essentially halt business, transportation and government operations for days or weeks. If this scenario, the most extreme of the four the researchers developed, ever played out, the U.S. economy could lose up to $41.5 billion each day. Biggest U.S. Losers Per Day (Credit: Discover) Discover [This article originally appeared in print as "When the Lights Go Out."]

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当太阳关闭灯光

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美国每日损失最大者

马克·巴尔纳 (Mark Barna)

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