Conspiracy theorists on social media are busy touting the latest conclusion that the spectacular aurora borealis seen across a swath of four different continents over the weekend was caused by a University of Alaska program studying the ionosphere. Of course, that’s complete nonsense.
The claim has been circulating on social media after a geomagnetic storm caused a dazzling light in the night sky over the weekend, a light that appeared in places where the aurora borealis doesn’t often shine. Auroras occur when particles from the sun collide with particles in Earth’s ionosphere, the boundary between Earth’s lower atmosphere and space. The solar storm was caused by activity on the sun’s surface as our star approaches the maximum of its 11-year solar cycle. In fact, this weekend’s typhoon is most intense since 2003Reached G5 (extreme) conditions on Saturday night, According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
These auroras usually occur along the Earth’s magnetic field, towards the Earth’s poles. However, the intensity of the storm meant that the aurora borealis could be seen not only from Seattle to Florida in the United States, but also in Canada, all of Europe, and parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.
At a NOAA press conference held last week, scientists and forecasters from the Space Weather Prediction Center told reporters that disruption to everything from electrical transformers to GPS navigation systems could disrupt critical infrastructure operators. He said he warned people to prepare for possible storms.Forecasters too The best qualities of the storm were explained in detail. And we’ll also explain what you can expect, including the aurora borealis farther south than they usually appear.
Related article: It’s not just the Northern Lights: Here’s the technology affected by this weekend’s solar storm
Online conspiracy theorists have suggested that the aurora borealis may have actually been caused. High-frequency active aurora research program (HAARP), an experiment to study the ionosphere. Coincidentally, the University of Alaska announced the following on May 2nd: HAARP test is performed From May 8th to May 10th, theorists interpret this fact to mean that the experiment caused the aurora borealis.
Unfortunately, the university had to respond to these claims. “We have responded to many inquiries from the media and the public,” said HAARP Director Jessica Matthews. press release. “HAARP’s scientific experiments were not associated in any way with solar storms or high auroral activity seen around the world.”
References to HAARP on X, formerly known as Twitter, are usually accompanied by a supposed, unsubstantiated reference to “.weather weapon”, chemtrails and government-created tornadoes and whirlpools. A surprising number of social media posters based outside of the United States focused on Brazil, implicating HAARP as the cause of recent devastating floods in the country.1 X user from Essex complained Chemtrails and HAARP are at it again, leaving a thick coating of greenish dust on the garden table. (Someone commented: “Fat [sic], it’s spring in England. ”)
The ionosphere extends from about 50 miles to 400 miles (80 to 644 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface, far above where Earth’s weather occurs. Despite this disconnect, conspiracy theorists say HAARP is responsible for everything from the upper atmosphere to the weather on the ground. But there may be good reason for this conspiratorial tendency.be 2023 survey According to the American Psychological Association, conspiracy theorists are “often driven by a need to understand their environment, a desire for a sense of superiority, and certain personality traits such as paranoia and egocentrism.” Neuroscience News reported.
HAARP uses an array of instruments to understand the ionosphere, but it is its ionospheric research instruments that are of most interest to conspiracy theorists. According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks“It can be used to temporarily excite limited regions of the ionosphere for scientific research.” That’s right, scientists actually can Create small auroras when studying the ionosphere. But the similarities end there. HAARP is not powerful enough to produce auroras like those that occur naturally. Honestly, If humans could do that If you manufactured a spectacular light show like the one seen this weekend (and if social media is to be believed, everyone but me), someone would probably be monetizing it by now.
But the more I write about conspiracy theorists’ beliefs about HAARP, the more I understand their perspective. If it’s raining, that’s a sign that the government is trying to get me into office again. If it’s sunny, yes, chemistryThe trail is a sign that the government is once again trying to poison me and prevent me from doing meaningful work. I won’t shut up!
