E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
NASA / SDO
An "intensitygram" from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the double-barreled sunspot active region 1416 pointing toward Earth.
As solar activity builds toward an expected peak in 2013, a double-barreled sunspot has been doubling in size over the past couple of days and now has the potential to shoot significant eruptions in our direction.
It's not certain that active region 1416 will erupt with coronal mass ejections as violent as the blasts that were thrown off by the sun late last month. But it has developed a mixed "beta-gamma" magnetic field that packs enough energy to throw off medium-scale solar flares, SpaceWeather.com reports.
"Any such eruptions this weekend would be Earth-directed as the sunspot turns to face our planet," SpaceWeather's Tony Phillips wrote.
Medium-size M-class flares are generally associated with the kinds of solar storms that produce enhanced auroral lights, but not huge inconveniences on Earth. It's the X-class flares you really have to watch out for: That level of solar storming could affect radio communications as well as satellites and electrical grids if the operators of those systems aren't careful.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have a wide array of space assets monitoring the sun, and for now all's quiet on the solar front. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center reported some problems tracking the Advanced Composition Explorer, a satellite that plays a key role in tracking solar storms, but those problems are expected to go away as ACE's orientation with respect to the sun improves.
NASA / ESA / SOHO / NOAA
The heart-shaped coronal mass ejection can be seen at about the 10 o'clock position on this image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.
The prediction center's Facebook page reports that on Friday, the sun threw off a slow-moving coronal mass ejection, or CME — in the shape of a heart, no less. "A preliminary model run predicts this CME will arrive, appropriately enough, on Valentine's Day," NOAA reports. So if you're out with your Valentine that night, particularly in Scandinavia or Canada, watch the skies. Even if the earth doesn't move, the aurora might glow.
Meanwhile, the sunspot region that caused all the auroral fireworks last month, known as AR1402, has moved around the far side of the sun. Solar scientists will be interested to see how that region has changed when it comes back into view. We're still a year out from the anticipated peak in the sun's 11-year activity cycle, so there'll be lots of sun-watching ahead. The best ways to keep track on a daily basis is to check in with NOAA's space weather center and SpaceWeather.com.
In the meantime, catch up on your oohing and ahhing over the northern lights by clicking on these links:
Update for 4:45 p.m. ET Feb. 11: Speak of the devil ... SolarHam.com reports that AR1402 has indeed made its reappearance on the edge of the sun's disk and was observed firing off C-class solar flares.
Old active region 1402 is currently producing C-class flares as it approaches the northeast limb. Movies by SDO/HMI and GOES SXI.
Update for 2:30 p.m. ET Feb. 12: The double-barreled active region is moving off its direct-fire orientation as the sun continues to rotate, and although the sunspots have continued to grow, it's becoming less likely that any CME from that region would score a direct hit on Earth and its magnetic field. So for now, the most significant effect we can look forward to is a round of colorful northern lights around Valentine's Day.
Tip o' the log to Jason Major at Universe Today.
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Leave a Comment:
I have a question. If the sunspots are pointing directly at the Earth when they let loose a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), wouldn't the sideways motion from the sun's roatation make the ejection miss us laterally? I should think that a CME coming from "upstream," or from an area that hasn't yet faced us, would be a greater worry. I don't know what the mechanics of this would be, but I hope someone might be able to elaborate on my thoughts, or correct them. Thanks.
The speed of ejecta is a few orders of magnitude greater than the Sun surface speed.
The CME is actually shot from the surace of the Sun, not flung like you would with a ball on a sting. This would make the CME come almost 90 degree from the surface instead on making a straight line with the outside rotaion of the Sun.
martvol
A bullet fired from a moving vehicle at a 90 deg. angle will still travel sideways to some degree, the same would hold true of a MCE.
You do not understand physics, or how fast a bullet moves based on your statement.
Wait, so what will happen to us if it does hit earth?
Wait, so what will happen to us if it does hit earth?
Well I guess we won't care about who wins American Idol...........
What caliber? Factory load or not? What's the wet bulb at? Headwind or not? If so, how fast is it? Raining or clear? Temperature? And are you holding your tongue out the right side or left side of your mouth?
Was the author sober when he wrote the article? Because I sure didn't see anything that looked like a gun! Stupid article!
Fred, to answer your question, normally, YES, you are correct. I am a solar "weather" specialist, and when observing sun spots that are on the limb turning towards the Earth, we notice the greatest impact...HOWEVER, a coronal mass ejection propagates energy at the Earth at the speed of light, meaning the initial effects of a major (M or X class Flare) can be felt within 8 minutes of the event.
But for most solar weather phenomena, you are correct.
Bob - ever look down the wrong end of a double barrel shotgun?
Your thinking is absolutely accurate. This report makes us believe that there is no distance between the two. This alarmist report fails in many aspects. To call two sunspots "a gun" is irresponsible. Evidently the writer never paid attention in physics class.
Well, I'm no physicist but from what I understand about the orbit of the Earth and the rotation of the Sun (both being counter clockwise and in the same direction I believe) I would think the CME would pass behind us, assuming the point and time at which it erupts is directly facing us. Now the sun takes approximately 25 days at its equatorial position to rotate. That would mean that should the CME be a prolonged event, then the CME may actually catch up to us.
But hey, thats just my two cents.
MrEd, I suggest you watch the Mythbusters' episode where they took on the Hollywood stunt of "whipping a bullet" and found that, no you can't, even at speeds that no human could accomplish.
Sheesh ... My poetic license must have expired. There are two very prominent sunspots, which are considered part of one active region (designated 1416). Right now they're pointing right at us and are in position to fire "bullets" of plasma and charged particles. It did strike me that they looked like the barrels of a shotgun, and that's why I used the term "loaded gun" in the headline. Are some of you folks really so literal-minded? I did pretty well in physics class, by the way. ;-)
See, the problem, Mr Boyle, is that when you mention guns in your article, the ilk of the reader base gets broadened. It's apparent that they are disappointed when the article isn't really about aforementioned guns. Too bad they can't appreciate the article for is pertinent content.
Yeah, half the readers get excited about seeing extraterrestrial firearms and half scamper under their beds, and half don't pay attention.
I didn't do so well in math BTW.
I thought it was a good article, and I fully understood your symbolism.
lol cannon. Boyle the problem about the "gun" statement is that poeple start beleiving that it will hurt us. This solar eruption wont do anything. Exept maby give you a nice veiw if your in the northern hemisphere.
When stars are criminalized, only criminals will have stars.
BRENT WINS!!! Great post!
Alan - I like the article, and the symbolism works for me.
It is what it is.
Folks complaining about the "loaded gun" description remind me of an old guy I once saw interviewed on TV after his home was destroyed by a tornado. He was complaining about how the tornado didn't sound at all like a train as many people have described... "The wind kicked up and all hell broke loose but I didn't hear anything that sounded like a train whistle going woo-woo".
Is it just me, or is it that anytime I read about the solar flares or space rocks, I wonder "is this bad?"
It is just you, "sir" . The rest of the planet already knows "this is bad." Are you GCMG,KCMG/DCMG,CMG, OBE.... ? Are you from the UK or the Commonwealth ? Just curious, mate. Cheers .
Holy crap!!!
I'm just amazed the person who wrote the article actually commented to try and clear things up. Usually journalists, writers, bloggers (not sure how much lower on the totem pole I need to go) just write their shtick and could care less about what anybody says about the article they just wrote. So I just want to say, "Thank you, Alan. At least for trying to make this a little interactive."
And kudos to you too Brent.
Alan's good people, or at least a responsible journalist.
But if anyone should take offense to the title of this article it should be the Sun itself. Having its mighty CMEs compared to this infinitely less powerful shotgun? Preposterous!
But in all seriousness, I think the metaphor is apt; a pair of sunspots directly facing us during the height of solar activity is a threat immediately comparable to facing a loaded double-barrel shotgun. It is not as lethal to us as the latter, but like a child hiding behind his daddy, that is something we can only say while remaining within the protection of the Earth's magnetic field.
Alan Boyle ....
Another great educational , entertaining post ....
I see how much fun they are having with this one ....
Keep up this type of nice work ....
Thanks ....
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are blu.....
@Luopo
I understand physics well enough and understand bullets even better. A bullet fired perpendicularly from a moving vehicle will travel sideways to some extent, it is the inverse effect as when leading prey. While the amount may not be great, the difference is there none the less. If you were to slow down an aerial view of the above described shot, what you would see is the bullet traveling in a very slight diagonal path from point of origin to it's point of impact.
@ Ryoushi
I suggest you watch the show again and this time pay attention. What they "disproved" has nothing to do with the lateral movement of a bullet during it's trajectory, they were "disproving" the concept of curving a bullet in it's flight path. One thing they neglected to mention, every bullet fired can and will curve when fired, if it is allowed to travel far enough to travel past the apex of it's trajectory without impacting with some object. Gravity will make it curve as it slows down and falls to earth. Look at the trajectory of a 44-40 for example, with it's low muzzle velocity and large caliber, you can almost see the rainbow it draws in the air on it's way to the target.
Don't try arguing with an expert in the field, I have been handling, firing and repairing guns for near 40 years and have been reloading and designing custom loaded bullets for about 25. I know all about CUP pressures, muzzle velocities, trajectories, impact vs knockdown etc. etc.
mred is right. and its a common sense thing. doesn't require vector analysis, but you could if you wanted to.
The end is near...quick go out and buy bread and milk before all gone!
...OK...but do I need to start buying bread, water and ammo?
Alan, don't let the peanut gallery get to you. You are by far the best journalist here.
And people, up to this post, most likely it's just Michael that has a better grasp of stellar physics/mechanics than Alan does and he didn't correct anything.
Mitchell
Yes Alan - this section of the Vine is that anal...no wonder conservatives don't buy into science theory, when it's sold by snobs it defeats the message. My scientific conclusion is there is some kind of anti-brain-matter at work here.
Measuring brains or measuring penis's - it's all the same to us average balanced logical humans. No wonder they had to invent Love Potion #9 - they sure weren't going to score on just charm...lol.
The track of the ejected radiation is determined at the moment it is emitted. The motion of the sun has no effect on it after that point.
Let's all hope that science fiction does not become science fact as in relation to the movie, "The Knowing".
What an incovenience!... just when my golf game is coming into form.
Mr. Boyle,
Let's look at it this way. What if I wrote this article and titled it, "The Sun has a death ray pointed at us." Then go on to say, its really not a death ray. That's basically what you did. A loaded gun pointed at us is not a safe place to be in. So people see the words "LOADED GUN" and immediately become stressed out until they read the article. Even then, some folks will just conclude the government is covering it all up.
Quit using vitriol and sensationalism in your articles MSNBC. What's wrong with the TRUTH. Here is a title you could have used. "The Sun is pointing two medium sized solar flares at Earth." What's wrong with the truth?
J. Edgar
Lighten up a bit. It was a very good article and informative. There was nothing wrong with the analogy.
Fairly recent and ongoing studies, supported by our government, have determined that any debilitating Electromagnetic Pulse produced through Solar flares or otherwise, would see our Electric Transmission Systems impacted negatively. Our government agencies and Congress continue to "Talk" about the consequences and continues to allow the Utilities to "Self Regulate" their electrical supply systems. The Electric Utility Industry in this country has done virtually nothing to mitigate their exposure to these possible/probably events. The Electric Grid in this country is much MORE vulnerable in this country than in the past due to A) The unwillingness of the utilities to spend the money needed to help protect their systems: B) The now, broad use of electronic monitoring AND control systems (SCADA) which would be decimated by a severe magnetic electrical surge rendering them useless as soon as the magnetic burst reaches their circuit boards. If, or when in my opinion, this happens we could all kiss our electric supply good bye for weeks or months. Maybe longer.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!!!
@ cannonballer - BRILLIANT....Friggin Brilliant. What a roll - thanks!
A couple of things....
1- Other than the font, I thought Alan's article was well-written for a general science audience.
2- CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections) are not only ballistic when spewing out of the Sun's photosphere; their path is also influenced by the Sun's magnetic field lines which extend outward, intersecting the planets, and are increasingly "twisted" by the Sun's rotation. Where mag lines converge there is a concentration of the CME material.
3- The Integrated Space Weather Analysis System (at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) is a central collection point from the 2 dozen satellites that currently monitor the Sun's activities. Here is a animated plot of our current Earth+Sun interactions, something I check every morning whilst sipping my first cuppa:
http://www3.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/movie/2012/test_6.20120211.avi
(If that link doesn't play in your browser, I recommend saving the file to your local drive and playing it with a media player such as the free VLC programme)
4- Here is a great animation showing the inner Solar System during a notable CME event from last November; note how the dashed lines (the magnetic field lines) move and wiggle as the CME passes thru:
http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/downloads/20111112_232400_anim.tim-den.gif
Cheers! ~Michael (Astronomy.FM★Radio)
Another day in Armageddon.
"Well I guess we won't care about who wins American Idol..........."
I stopped caring after season one. =/
I stopped caring after the first, and only, episode I actually watched. Now the auditions are amusing, otherwise I have no use for the show.
J.Edger~ Alan did exactly what he's paid to do. He made a title that would catch the eye and draw readers to it, then clarified with precise information describing what could happen....none of it suggesting we are doomed. If some people are too stupid to understand that it wasn't literal then they shouldn't be reading news articles to begin with. The article was interesting and the title drew you to it, simple as that.
I wasn't doing anything important today anyways
I hope NASA and the NOAA get the money shot or a stunt sun will have to be sent in!
liberal propaganda. whatever.
lol... oh Ilove when people like you try to read a science article. Sound it out , son...
what the hell does it have anything to do with liberal... you have to be an idiot..
u have too be
You give republicans a bad name(like ron paul).
Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes
Science and facts are now considered liberal propaganda to cavemen.
/\ 5 people can't spot a troll /\
tex
Trolling long? Nothing political here, go find another board, there are plenty of political articles to post inane comments on. BTW, as a Conservative just let me say, STFU.
Hey, c'mon guys. Looking at his name, I assume he's from Texas, where most people believe science is evil. :p
stupid title, who writes this crap 2nd graders.
Most 2nd graders have capitalization, comma and question mark use mastered, which is more than can be said for you.
Well said, breakingglass27.
What a great Title to this story. It's not really like a loaded gun. Do you guys/gals have brains? There are people suffering all over the world & your writing about Sun Spots! Sun Spots that may or may not present a risk to Earth! The first poster accually has a point, If those Sun Spots erupt, It takes like 8 minutes to get to Earth! I would think they would miss us by bunches of miles anyways. Let's write about something meaningfull. I love science, but there's alot of other science that is more releavent at this time. Think about it! A Loaded Gun Huh...
Sativa -- The light from the Sun takes 8 minutes to get here but the charged particles take several days to make the trip.
And "bunches" of miles is the astrophysical terminology for what measurement of distance?
"Bunches" is just under "lots", but more than "some".
Yep, sciencey terms. Like "stuff" and "things". Makes sense to me.
Is that the same as a sh!tload?
@ terry - Yep, you nailed it on the head! LOL!!!!
Terry,
Are you talking about metric or imperial sh!tload?
Alex,
Sh!tload is the metric measure. In imperial it would be an arseload.
Imperial of course. I believe in metric its called a crapload.
Slightly serious note, Sativa, a charged particle cloud like this is NOT tens of miles across, not hundreds, perhaps even not THOUSANDS, but TENS of THOUSANDS of mile across. It would be a cloud on the size order of a couple of or more Jupiters, and I think chances are pretty good, that something generally aimed at us that size, coming at a fraction of the speed of light, would hit us, and have an impact depending on how energetic it is.
it wont do crap. We travel at 67,062 mph, so take that devide it by 10 and you get: 6706.2 miles per six minites. That means we will have moved 676.2 miles before it hit us. Let us not forget that this thing is like a low powered water cannon, it spereads very quikly.
well Terry et al... your vocabulary is used, frequently, by about 6th grade reading level to prove what big bad men they are...
The challenge is getting across the sense without the four-letters... like... "it looks like your anatomy behind you is overactive...."
Set aside the fact that science is more interesting than the television and the insipidness it spawns... And, despite Sativa's outrage, there are more news articles on death, suffering, fear, war and hate ... than, say a nifty article about the sun doing (possibly) disruptive things to the stupid boob tube and bad radio pop music on Valentine's ...
No, no, no ... set all that aside ...
Sativa ... Let's go back to 2nd grade. I'll even hold your hand.
YOU + ARE = YOU'RE
And you Hearts Quest are a putz. Oops another four letter word.
woops, 8 minites sorry, we will move: 8941.6 miles. sorry about that.
Yeah, trent... but what's the diameter of Earth, and won't part of the planet still be in range at that time?
Trent, could I introduce you to spellcheck?
About those rays missing the Earth: we have a gravitational pull, remember. This means, a near-miss is probably a hit.
The magnetic fields 'directing' the CME's would also overpower any rotational velocity the plasma had.
So what will happen is fire will hit us and we all will die?
This just sounds stupid... I didnt read all of it because the first sentence is just the dumbest thing ever... Double Barrell shotgun? WTF? its two @!$%#in circles... I thought the was a shape of an actual gun on the sun... Its TWO @!$%#IN CIRCLES.... and they say its pointed at earth but hell from that half of the sun EVERYTHING IS POINTED AT US... This is just another ploy by the government to try and support that BS about the world ending later this year... No matter what you say im not buyin into the hype... The world took THOUSANDS probably MILLIONS of years to develope and now you gonna tell me it all ends within 24hrs at a specific time of day? Cut the crap, if you beleive this youre just as naieve as the idiots who even bothered to post this. I swear NASA can be some of the most retarded geniuses ever... Seriously...
Shut the @!$%# up, you are too stupid to live.
Wait...what? I was fine with the article, but your comment that made my brain hurt.
I'm not seeing any world ending propaganda. Just an interesting spot on the sun that looks like staring down a double barrel shotgun. A bit of a jump and a stupid name for the article, but whatever. Blah blah, pretty lights in the sky, blah.
Nope, no end of the world.
Yeah, the world took, like, y'know, ZILLIONS of years to "develope." And here I thought a "develope" was a bisexual antelope .... like, y'know ... SERIOUSLY. So how's that lobotomy working out, Ebonii?
Feel lucky that you've never been looking down the barrel of of a loaded shotgun.
The lack of even a basic understanding of physics by so many people is stunning and scary. Please folks, take a little time to learn about science. Don't just relate this to something you saw in a movie, but take some time to try to understand what is really happening. I at least give the first poster some credit for thinking and asking questions.
No doubt, the nature of CMEs is a complex phenomena that includes both photons at light speed or very near light speed as well a particles. Each aspect of a CME has its own properties and dangers. What we see in sunspots are essentially magnetic storms on the sun. Visually observed, they do have some parallels to earth weather storms, except when the eject electromagnetic waves and particles, their destructive nature can travel enormous distances.
If there is some extarordinary concern for a pair of these magnetic storms, it is the possibility that they merge and interact with each other creating an enormous release of energy.
In 1859, there was strong sunspot activity and by all appearances, multiple storms interacted and merged to create a massive flare and CME. This is referred to as the Carrington event. Back in 1859, the resulting destruction was relatively small, but we really had no major electrical infrastructure at the time either. Lots of other evidence of an extremely large event was noted though, including major issues with telegraph lines, which was about the extent of the electrical infrastructure. If such a solar flare occurred today, it could be devastating to much of our infrastructure.
In solar activity, size matters. It reflects the massive amounts of energy involved. The bigger the release of energy, the more destructive it can be. Now people might think there is nothing we can do about it anyway, but that isn't completely accurate. There are some protection measures that can be made with our satellites, not foolproof, but helpful in preventing damage. Polar route airline flights can be and are restricted when there is a high probability of such events. Part of this is related to potential failure on the plahes themselves and some is to reduce human exposure to the dangerous wavelengths of energy which can be sent out from these flares. Some things can also be done to limit damage to other infrastructure too and the military and government is continually making improvements to harden against damaging solar activity. Also, key components are on alert to potentially react quickly to do a variety of this that could lessen damage.
For most of us there is not a lot we can do, but there are some things that could possible help somewhat. One can make an argument that you are a bit more vulnerable to some types of exposure when outdoors, but depending on what the indoor structure is, it may only provide limited advantages.
About the smartest thing we can do is to be prepared for a potential mass disruption of infrastructure. Several days or even weeks in a major city would be devastating. Having a store of some food, water and other essentials is not a bad idea. Not alot unlike when preparing for a hurricane, blizzard or some other more familiar natural disaster. A severe enough event could potentially make your car useless. The ability to shelter in place with and adequate supply of essentials just makes good sense, even if the probability is remote. Many folks in rural environments are typically a bit more prepared because they face such interuptions of services more so that city dwellers, but in a city environment, the real effects would be far worse.
This isn't something that should be cause for panic, but it should only serve as a reminder of what could potentially happen and an understanding that the probability increases significantly when such solar activity exists at a higher rate than normal. A sensible bit of precaution is just a good idea.
More interesting is 'why'? Why is most so entangled with what time or date the world will end? Sunspots are nothing new and the fact that we have the technology to see them and understand how they effect the world we live in should be enough. The last sunspots reeked havoc on the skies causing pretty lights in the night time skies but most people don't know is that the high power emitted from sunspots can also damage the ozone layer... Yes, the thing that protects us from harmful radiation. If the current sunspots are strong enough to do some serious damage to that then the 'world will come to an end' but until that time lets just chill and enjoy life and the people we love.
The biggest damage I can see is I just wasted all that time reading 1NewDays post. I'll never get that time back.
I bet your lips move when you read silently....
Ebonii.... are you the lovely girl in the advert to the right ? Someone needs to limit your talk until you know what you're talking about. One doesn't get much education for $49.00 these days. Seriously... ;o)
"There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark." ~ Pink Floyd
Why don't we just cover the entire surface of the Earth with tinfoil to reflect the rays back at the Sun. Show it who's boss. It would create a lot of good jobs !
My *god* you are ______. And yes, I'll have fries with that order.
It says at the end of the article that this will only be a light show folks.
If anything solar flares help create ozone. Ever used a sodering iron? If you have then this should be easy to understand for you. Ozone can only be created in high energy envyroments. Ozone is created when there are singular oxegen atoms mixed in with large quantitys of normal O2. Singular oxegen atoms form when O2 gets broken up by radiation. Get the picture now?
12/21/2012.... it is done.... party @ my house 12/20/2012
12/22/2012 Unless the dead rise sometime between now an then, THE AFTER PARTY will be on my BLOCK. (PS, when you wake up from your drunken stupor on the 21st, your more than welcome to join us )
Hey, I've already ordered my new Mayan Calander for the next 5000 years. Postage was a bitch too!
I can't wait for 2012 to be over, this is ridiculous. I wonder what the NEXT doomsday date will be after we all survive 2012. I'm sure we'll hear "ooops, I meant the end is in 2024!" or something like that!
I like the picture of the bear.
I am eagerly awaiting the pronouncement that the sun spots and solar activity are the results of man-made global warming.
Gary, that ain't so, but I wouldn't be surprised if global warming wasn't at least in part caused by increased solar activity over the years. By the way, my understanding is that the sunspsots' increased magnetic fields radiate more energy out og the sun than the bright surface. They just don't necessarily radiate in the visible light wavelengths, but in radio, microwave, X-ray, and other wavelengths. When the earth receives/absorbs that energy, it can warm up.
Except, we are at the LOW end of the cycle, when solar radiation and sunspots are at their LOWEST end of energy - yet it's been getting WARMER, not cooler.
I have no belief whatsoever in man made global warming. There is much money to be made from that propaganda machine. With enough money I'm sure you could get a few "scientists" to generate reports that support their theory. I"ll go with the more logical one that states that it is simply earth's natural cycle.
(Now watch me get beat down!) ;)
Southern Belle - My goodness, but you have got a lot of reading to do. A good start would be Merchants of Doubt. There is a lot of money riding on this debate all right, and its coal and oil money. And by the way, the scientists who are making money sowing the seeds of doubt are some of the same ones who worked on the "cigarettes don't cause lung cancer" campaign. And they are using the same tactics. By the way, I don't want to beat you down - I just don't want my grandchildren to have to "adjust" to the consequences of denial. By the way 2 - no one ever said natural cycles weren't involved in climate change.
The few scientists getting big bucks for promoting a view in the Global Warming controversey are all on the deniers side. Those doing the work are not getting rich doing this. Have you compared the salary of a working scientist to that of a fiinancial advisor, or a plumber?
Yeah like there is some big science conspiracy. Foolish. I they only knew the ropes you have to go through by peers they might understand.
Your dog pooped in my yard deltaecho,please come and pick it up.
what a good boy he was! Extra cookies for fido.
Here he lies, all cold and hard, the last damn dog, that sh.t in my yard !
Was the Solar Flare aproved by Obama and the Bilderberg Group ?
OH NOOOOOOOO!
I wonder if the alien spaceships will be behind the coronal mass ejections heading our way!!
For really u guys will belive that stuf come on theres other plants in the way if it does happen so just get over ur selfs
Other plants in the way? So far, you can only make me believe there is one plant in the way.
Vegetable perhaps?
What I am more worried about is the stuff you put in your system. Get your GED and leave the tough stuff to the adults. Run along.
Lock & load, don't come to my house...
Let it be done!
CME's are news because a large X-class pointed directly at us can (and will someday) remove the atmosphere from this ball of rock.
Serious, sun made, global warming after that, which of course will be blamed on the current administration.
If it hasnt occured in the past few billion years I do not worry about it
Yes on a flat tax, you mention an important point for sorting logical 12/21/12 theories from hare-brained ones. If an X-class CME is large enough and registers a direct hit on Earth, it will cause major damage. Satellites will not work, so anything dependent on a satellite to do its job won't work either. The power grid will fail. One part will sustain severe enough damage to cause instant failure; then remainder will become overloaded and progressively fail. This would explain why WebBot is silent for 6 months to one year after 12/21/12; WebBot is a US gov't sponsored computer program which acts as a repository of all internet chatter.
What you mention relates to the Dresden Codex, one of the few remaining ancient Mayan texts. The Codex is considered by some to be an end of the world prophecy. The Codex makes direct reference to a global catastrophy involving world-wide floods. A strong enough X-class CME making a direct hit will shear away part of the Earth's ozone layer. This will cause temperatures to rise significantly, melting the polar ice caps and causing world-wide floods.
Earth would then be a warmer, wetter, more tropical planet. This effects what crops you grow and when you grow them. Imagine man trying to grow crops and rebuild infrastructure in a climate close to that of when dinosaurs walked the Earth.
Roger their hasn't been 7 billion people living all at one time on this planet for the last 2 billion years. Your comment seems to be spoken without much thought put into it.
I'm not aware that WebBot is sponsored by the U.S. government..is there any evidence to support that statement?
I have a friend who is looking for a job as a writer for your rag. He has a 1st grade education and can out write your writers. I think he has a 1st grade education. What do you say. How much do you pay?
12-21-12
And when that date passes and we all survive, what will the next one be? I'm sure some Hollywood nutcase will have all the answers and make a movie.
Why didn't the Mayans predict their own demise?
♫♪♪♫ Sunshinnnne ... on my shoulders ... gives me cancerrrrrrr ♫♫♪♪♫
Roger that.................
This is gonna be a lot better than a boring earthquake.
Haha, I was just trying to keep it simple. I don't accually know, how many mile's there is between the Sun & Earth without looking it up! So bunches will have to work for now. Interesting fact, How the light takes 8 minutes to get here, but charged particles take days! Whats funny is that "US POSTERS" learn more from eachother than the articles we comment on. Still I don't think this is much to worry about!
Can I write for you MSN? I have a great story! I found this weird shaped Button in my washer this morning! I think it may be from Walmart or maybe from Kohls I don't really know. But I know I could make my story more interesting than this! Oh yeah, I put the button on a pair of jeans from Target. Oh the story that this button has to tell... Give me Money now please, I just made a better story about a button than your writer did about a sun spot. They obviously copied, cut & pasted this from some where else to try to create a story...
93,000,000 miles between the Sun and Earth.
Sativa,
I too often learn more from the comments than from the articles themselves. Brent's offering is a case in point.
Light moves at approx. 186,000 miles per second.
Not remembering the rate at which the different particles move, but the answers are in my nanotechnology textbook collecting dust.
I don't think it was in your nanotechnology textbook.
And only massless particles go at the speed of light.
Particles with mass can go at any speed less than that depending on the driving force.
The equations for calculating particulate wavelength frequencies is most definately in THAT textbook. It isn't handy at the moment and I cannot remember the formula, but it is there.
So how's the magnetic north pole doing these days? Last I heard it's moving at 40 to 60 miles per year.
The magnetic north pole is in Antarctica. I have proof.
I may be wrong, but I believe that the magnetic poles tend to wander around. Anybody have any definitive information on that?
Every 44,000 or so years, the poles precess at about 4 degrees.
The poles move because we pump oil from the ground, per Al Gore
He discovered that right after he invented the internet and before he tried to rape thAT LADY.
I like when a columnist has to justify his own article to Stupid America. It makes him look just as dumb. I find the article interesting, however this comment chain is mind-numbing. LOL
The poles are in constant flux, "moving almost 40 miles every year". The North Pole is headed for Russia at the present time. *Cosmic Log January 7, 2011
The poles are in constant flux, "moving almost 40 miles every year". The North Pole is headed for Russia at the present time. *Cosmic Log January 7, 2011
The poles have flip-flopped periodically over the last hundreds of millions of years. The record of this is 'recorded' in the geomagnetic patterns which extend outward from the mid-Atlantic ridge, which have been mapped in detail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal
If it really mattered,you'd either know about,or not.
engage the magneto thermodynamic drive
I did. Nothing happened. I think its broke or the batteries are dead.
You have to hit the little red button.
Don't hit the ludicrous speed switch! We'll go plaid!
Wait! Never push the red button!
When I saw the picture I didn't see a double barrell shotgun. It looks like the sun has nostrils. Let's just hope it covers it's nose if it blows ! If it gets eyes and a smiley face, it will look like those ''HAVE A NICE DAY " buttons. Trying to be cute , but honestly most of us, me included, don't really understand this stuff. Back in 2009 I was having an arguement with a guy, who kept insisting it was the 40th anniversary of the Sun Landing. I felt I knew more than he did.
A sun landing would have been fatal, but they went at night.
Article wasn't so much but some of the comments were entertaining.