Impact of Extreme Space Weather on Human Technologies

Synopsis

In our daily lives we talk about the weather all the time. What about the weather in space and what are the potential impacts of severe space weather conditions on human societies? This question becomes particularly important as we become more and more dependent on the functionality of spacecrafts and satellites. I will start with a brief introduction to the physical processes that influence space weather and will present how extreme space weather conditions can be defined. I will discuss the potential risks to human technologies using a major solar eruptive event from July 2012 as an example.