Sun on Brink Of Plunging Into ‘Deep Solar Minimum’ Which Could Cause Part of the Earth’s Atmosphere to COLLAPSE, Claim Boffs

THE sun could be about to batter us with a shower of deep space rays so intense it could cause part of our atmosphere to COLLAPSE.

Space boffs reckon we are on the verge of a “deep solar minimum”, which is a period of low activity.

Nasa captured a film of solar flares being flung from the sun’s atmosphere

Unlike the name suggests, this could cause an outer layer of the atmosphere called the thermosphere to contract – and it’s not entirely clear what the effects of this could be on our planet.

Professor Yvonne Elsworth at the University of Birmingham believes that a “fundamental change in the nature of the [sun’s magnetic] dynamo may be in progress”.

It’s backed by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory’s daily snaps which have shown a spotless sun for 44 days in a row.

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This has led scientists to believe that it’s nearing a tumultuous period not seen since 2008.

Solar minimums are known to spark lots of cosmic ray activity which can penetrate our atmosphere.

These cosmic beams cause “air showers” of particles when they hit our atmosphere.

They pose a health hazard to astronauts and a single stray cosmic ray could cause a satellite to malfunction.

As well as wiping out communication systems, a solar blast could down power grids, too.

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