Solar storm accidentally detonated hidden bombs during Vietnam War: Study

A massive solar storm accidentally set off at least two dozen underwater mines during the Vietnam War, prompting the US Navy to look for alternatives that were more resistant to the effects of the Sun, scientists say.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder in the US and University of Newcastle in Australia looked at US Navy records from 1972 to understand the severity of the solar storm.

"Between 2 and 4 August 1972 (a sunspot) produced a series of brilliant flares, energetic particle enhancements and Earth-directed ejecta," researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Space Weather.

Those flares cleared the path for a subsequent ultra-fast shock that reached Earth in record time of 14.6 hours, 'Live Science' reported.

People all over the planet noticed that flare's effects. There were radio blackouts and X-ray emissions from the long-duration flare remained high for over 16 hours.

For the first time, a space-based detector observed gamma-rays during this solar flare, researchers said.

The flare also caused damage to solar panels on satellites in space. A defense communications satellite "suffered a mission-ending on orbit power failure."