Angkasa: Report that solar storm will cause three days of darkness a hoax

PETALING JAYA: An online portal report that the earth will be in darkness from Dec 21 to 23 due to a solar storm is a hoax, the National Space Agency (Angkasa) said in a statement Monday.

"The article quoted National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) president Charles Bolden who, according to the portal, said the news was the space agency's website.

"However, there is no such news in the Nasa website. Other sources quoted in the story also couldn't be found, thus proving the news is fake," Angkasa said.

According to the news portal, Nasa allegedly confirmed that three days of total darkness would take place this year due to a solar storm.

Angkasa, in its statement, said a solar storm would not cause the earth to go dark.

"Earth is protected by a magnetic layer (magnetosphere), which causes the solar storm to be deflected. The storm becomes weak before it enters earth.

"When the remainder of the storm enters earth, it is discharged as an aurora in the southern and northern hemispheres," it said.

Angkasa also said this hoax had been going around since 2012 and that the portal also spread rumours that doomsday was to happen in December 2012.