Absurd Conspiracy Theory Claims Alaska Science Experiment Triggered Global Auroras

Conspiracy theorists on social media have been busy selling their latest conclusion: the magnificent auroras seen on four different continents over the weekend were caused by a University of Alaska program that studies the ionosphere. Which, of course, is pure nonsense.

This claim has been circulating on social media after a geomagnetic storm caused bright lights to appear in the night sky last weekend – lights that appeared in places where auroras don’t often shine. Auroras occur when particles from the Sun collide with particles in Earth’s ionosphere, the boundary between our planet’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 storm was the most intense since 2003reaching G5 (extreme) conditions on Saturday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Typically, these auroras occur toward the Earth’s poles, along the planet’s magnetic field. But the severity of the storm meant that auroras were seen everywhere, from Seattle to Florida in the United States, but also in Canada, Europe and parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.

During a NOAA press conference held last week, scientists and meteorologists from the Space Weather Prediction Center told reporters they have warned operators of critical infrastructure to prepare for the storm, which could disrupt everything from transformers to navigation systems. GPS. Meteorologists also gave details about the superlative nature of the storm and what to expect, including auroras further south than the northern lights typically appear.

Related article: Not Just Auroras: Here’s the Tech That Got Hit by This Weekend’s Solar Storm

Online conspiracy theorists are suggesting that the auroras were actually caused by the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), an experiment to study the ionosphere. It turns out that the University of Alaska announced on May 2 that HAARP testing would take place from May 8 to 10, a fact that theorists interpret to mean that the experiment caused the auroras.

Unfortunately, the University has had to respond to these claims. “We have been fielding many questions from the media and the public,” said Jessica Matthews, director of HAARP, in a statement. Press release. “The HAARP science experiments were in no way linked to the solar storm or the heightened auroral activity observed around the world.”

Mentions of HAARP on X, formerly known as Twitter, are typically accompanied by unsubstantiated references to alleged “meteorological weapons,” like chemtrails and government-created tornadoes and whirlpools. A surprising number of social media posters outside the US have focused on Brazil, implicating HAARP as the cause of the country’s recent devastating floods. An X user in Essex complained that chemtrails and HAARP were back, leaving a thick layer of greenish dust on his garden table. (Someone commented: “Deb’s [sic]This is spring in England.”)

The ionosphere extends from about 50 to 400 miles (80 to 644 kilometers) above 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 weather conditions on the ground. But there may be a good reason for this conspiratorial tendency; The 2023 Study of the American Psychological Association found that conspiracy theorists are “often driven by the need to understand their environment, a desire for superiority, and certain personality traits such as paranoia and self-centeredness,” such as Neuroscience News Reported.

HAARP uses a suite of instruments to understand the ionosphere, but conspiracy theorists are most interested in its Ionospheric Research Instrument, which according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, “can be used to temporarily excite a limited area of ​​the ionosphere for scientific study.” That’s right – scientists, actually he can create small auroras while studying the ionosphere. But that’s where the similarities end; HAARP is not powerful enough to create auroras like those that occur naturally. Honestly, if humans could fabricating light shows as spectacular as the ones seen this weekend (by everyone but me, if I trust social media), someone would probably have monetized it by now.

However, the more I write about conspiracy theorists’ beliefs about HAARP, the more I understand their perspective. If it’s raining, that’s proof that the government is once again trying to stop me from going to the office. If it’s sunny, that’s for sure, chemicaltrail – is a sign that the government is once again trying to poison me and prevent me from doing my meaningful work. I will not be silenced!