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Posted on 06/28/2009 4:33:41 PM PDT by LibWhacker
Washington, June 28: The sun, a star at the centre of the solar system, is known to provide ideal conditions for life to thrive on Earth. But, astronomers have claimed that it also leaves the planet wide open to harmful cosmic rays.
A joint team from University of Arizona and University of Texas in the US has found that the sun periodically leaves Earth open to assaults from interstellar nasties in a way that most stars do not.
The sun protects humans from cosmic rays and dust from beyond the solar system by enveloping in the heliosphere -- a bubble of solar wind that extends past Pluto. These rays would damage the ozone layer and interstellar dust can dim sunlight and trigger an ice age.
However, when the solar system passes through very dense gas and dust clouds, the heliosphere can shrink until its edge is inside Earth's orbit. So, in their research, the team, led by David Smith, has calculated the squeezing of various stars' protective "astrospheres".
The astronomers found Earth is exposed to between one and 10 interstellar assaults every billion years. Habitable planets around a red dwarf, which account for three of every four stars, are never exposed.
That's because they need to be close to these dim stars to be warm enough to be habitable, they said.
"The bottom line is that habitable planets around red dwarfs are better protected from climate catastrophes than Earth is," Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson was quoted as saying.
The findings are to appear in 'Astrobiology' journal.
Ping.
Doom!
Al Gore wants everyone to be required to buy sunglasses from optical companies financed by his “Go Yellow” venture capital firm.
We should begin preparing for it ....... hey, wait a minute ....... we are already IN an ICE AGE ~ this is just an "Interglacial Period" ~ and it's 5,000 years overdue for ending.
I recently bought a small telescope: Vixen R130SF. I really enjoy it so far...So much to learn.
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I demand to know what 0 intends to do about this.
Envirolooney Team Algore is on the case!
There oughta be a law...
Exactly!!! What do our politicians intend to do about this? I demand to know!!!
Gore's busy, as you know, so they can't decide whether to put Joe Biden or Barney Frank right on this outrage to global cosmic ray change.
Bush’s fault.
If anyone of FR has seen “KNOWING’ with Nicolas Cage out on DVD..this story is eerily similar.
ping
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