Scientists propose spraying chemicals into Earth's magnetic field to protect us from powerful solar storms

When severe solar storms hurtle toward Earth, the planet's first line of defense is its magnetosphere, a vast magnetic bubble that deflects the brunt of the sun's dangerous charged particles. Historically, humanity has only attempted to forecast the storms and brace for impact. Now, however, a team led by Brian Walsh of Boston University has proposed a bold method to actively strengthen that natural defense using a fleet of spacecraft designed to blunt the impact of space weather before it hits. The concept, dubbed StormWall, uses computer simulations to show that reinforcing the magnetosphere could reduce the intensity of a major geomagnetic storm by more than half. If realized, the researchers say the system could protect vulnerable satellites, global communications networks, GPS systems and electrical grids from potentially catastrophic disruptions. "People have always thought, 'space is huge, the sun is massive, we just have to sit here and take whatever it gives us,'" Walsh said in a statement . "But what we found is that we can impact it." During particularly powerful solar eruptions, Earth's natural shield can be breached through a process called magnetic reconnection . When magnetic fields carried by the solar wind align perfectly with Earth's magnetic field , they temporarily link together. This opens a celestial pathway, allowing massive amounts of solar energy to pour into near-Earth space and trigger geomagnetic storms. …