A massive explosion on the sun's surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005, hurling charged particles at Earth. (NASA / May 4, 2012)
Posted on 05/05/2012 7:09:10 PM PDT by null and void
A massive explosion on the sun's surface has triggered the largest solar radiation storm since 2005, hurling charged particles at Earth. (NASA / May 4, 2012)
A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.
This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England.
Much of the planet's electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built to withstand these periodic geomagnetic storms. But the world is still not prepared for a truly damaging solar storm, Hapgood argues in a recent commentary published in the journal Nature.
Hapgood talked with The Times about the potential effects of such a storm and how the world should prepare for it.
We had a recent flare-up of publicity in March thanks to a solar storm that didn't really amount to much. Is this sort of coverage a good thing or a bad thing?
It makes such a good scare story, and it's entertaining. It was a mildly interesting event, certainly, but not at all big-league stuff. It makes people think, "Oh it's nothing really," so experts like myself are in danger of being in the crying-wolf situation. That's something that is a concern to me, personally.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Good Q&A session at the link.
This time it’s different.
I’m selling Sun Block Cream with a “special solar flare-up repellent.” Just $19.95. But wait, if you act right now...
Repent !!!
They laughed at the boy who cried wolf, too!
This is one of those things that will happen at some point. Personally I think the best thing we could do build a lot more power production facilities to help get things up and running as quickly as possible afterward.
The Earth and Sun have been around a long-long time, with no end in sight.
We can all thank God for giving us a planet that's been around for about 4.6 billion years ... with no end in sight.
The current solar cycle is quite weak compared to those over the last 200 years or so. That’s not to say an individual spot couldn’t be a problem, but it is less likely.
The coming Solar Cycle 25 should be weaker still. The major implication of these weak solar cycles is actually lower global temperatures.
With the possible exception of Enoch, no one gets out alive...
ARe wE DEAd yeT?????
/Can’’t tell becAUSe of WHat I’m sMOKin.....
LET me know.
Not yet, patience my FRiend, patience...
Time to gather all of your wires and head to the Faraday Cave.
“Repent !!!”
Well, Yes, but not because of this.
A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt.
As if the global economy's been moving forward much lately.
You forgot Elijah.
Travelling at the speed of light it takes 8 minutes for solar “events” to reach the earth.
Done already.
OMG = Obama Must Go
Prep anyway. It might not be this. It might be something else. It might never come. It might come tonight.
Hmmmm...Guess we're toast.
Bad enough that this threat is growing exponentially due to a massive explosion of communist ideology in Washington, but now the same threat from a massive explosion on the good old sun.
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