In the wake of the Facebook/Instagram outage, let's talk about what would have to occur to really wipe out the internet because it could happen.
Scientists said a solar storm would have to happen to knock down the internet. If a solar storm happened, it would also cause widespread power outages, communication and navigation systems would crash, satellites would be messed up, and all commercial aircraft would be grounded.
A Solar Storm occurs when the sun flares up and a bunch of high-energy particles start being beamed toward earth. The first major recorded solar storm occurred roughly 2,700 years ago and although it had little impact on earth's people, if this same type of storm hit today it would be catastrophic.
Two recent examples of severe solar storms happened in 1989 in Quebec and 2003 in Sweden. Both of these left the areas with extensive power outages. So yes, this has happened before and yes, it could happen again.
For the full report on solar storms, head to USA Today.
There you have it! Just one more thing to worry about... and prepare for! If this happens, just pretend you're in Ralph Breaks The Internet, I'm sure the fictitious game characters will have it back up in no time!
Source: USA Today, Photo: Getty Images