Incoming Light Show

[KingOfZeal]

No, not a fun-to-go-to laser show with fireworks... well, not necessarily.

Instead, it's a giant electromagnetic storm that will be hitting Earth tomorrow morning at about 7am EST and giving a show to both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Coincidentally, radio communications may be hampered, and some electrical systems may be effected as well. So who wants to go rob a bank with me while the police radios aren't working as well?

Solar Flare Erupts Directly At The Earth, Should Hit Early Tuesday Morning (2/13/2011)

[DakAttack]

Re: Incoming Light Show

Who knew that star would be such a fucking marksman? I don't know many other non-living objects that can hit a moving target.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Incoming Light Show

These aren't totally unusual occurrences, but it this one registers higher on the scale than usual, once causing effects we can actually see.

The one you really want to worry about is the Big One. This is just something fun to watch. If we got hit with the real serious shit, you wouldn't be reading this now. Your computer would fry itself and so would mine. Your cellphone and ipad, too. So would the internet and no one would have electricity. Cars with lots of tech in them wouldn't function, but older or less wired cars could potentially function with proper repairs.

In 2009, Congress voted down implementing a new technology that would shield America's electrical infrastructure from the potential damage such an occurrence could do, due to the costs and time to implement it. That or because things in space don't exist to them. Pick one.

An EMP attack would have a similar effect to electronics, though perhaps over a smaller part of the grid depending upon where it detonated.

Fun stuff. The sun is indeed one hell of an inanimate object.

[KingOfZeal]

Re: Incoming Light Show

I was reading up on EMP stuff earlier -- I mentioned to a friend that another fiend of mine once built a homemade EMP bomb, and detonated it too. Wasn't much of a range, and he lives out in the country so all it hit was his house.

But my understanding of EMPs is that they only effect things that are powered, and it's because of the current running through that causes electronics to be destroyed. Granted, most computers these days have at least SOME current running through them at all times, but still...


I only wish I were able to watch it this morning, but my area decided to get this nice thick cloud cover.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Incoming Light Show

Yeah, I went out to watch the sunrise. All I could say was it was a bit more pink and purple-y this morning than orange and red.

[Mhurron]

Re: Incoming Light Show

The one you really want to worry about is the Big One. This is just something fun to watch. If we got hit with the real serious shit, you wouldn't be reading this now. Your computer would fry itself and so would mine. Your cellphone and ipad, too. So would the internet and no one would have electricity. Cars with lots of tech in them wouldn't function, but older or less wired cars could potentially function with proper repairs.

Next time of FOX - When Stars Attack.

And Fox is the only place for that drivel.

When the Sun starts throwing shit of the magnitude that it fries your individual device, you will be dead. A very large solar storm took Quebec Hydro offline for 9 hours only because of Quebecs geology and the fact that Quebec Hydro serves an area much larger then most regional power companies in the US. The only actual damage was to circuit breakers that tripped. No TV's exploded in Quebec. Some radio transmissions were hampered for a bit, but the radios worked just fine. That it happened in march, I'm betting most were bitching about the cold, not that their ABS no longer works.

March 1989 geomagnetic storm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Incoming Light Show

When the Sun starts throwing shit of the magnitude that it fries your individual device, you will be dead. A very large solar storm took Quebec Hydro offline for 9 hours only because of Quebecs geology and the fact that Quebec Hydro serves an area much larger then most regional power companies in the US. The only actual damage was to circuit breakers that tripped. No TV's exploded in Quebec. Some radio transmissions were hampered for a bit, but the radios worked just fine. That it happened in march, I'm betting most were bitching about the cold, not that their ABS no longer works.

Yes, I've heard of it, saw a little documentary on a couple weeks back.

I talk about shit like this because it actually entertains me more than I take it seriously. I find the topic of possible apocalypese fun. Why not? Its not like I can stop the sun or a meteor or some other shit from wiping us out, so I may as well entertain myself. I hold no fantasies of prolonged life or that we'll exist forever as a species.

Still, protecting ourselves from little brownouts like Quebec had would be a good thing since we can't seem to live without Facebook or iPads now.

We weren't as connected back then as we are now. And we're extremely reliant on being connected to an extent it affects our worldview and even how we interact with people on the internet. Just look what a little computer accident on Wall Street can do to stocks. Or just look at how my comments got your panties in a bunch and made you assume I got this shit from Fox. Either works.

I'm not saying I'm going to build an underground bunker and put on a tinfoil hat here, but it never hurts to be prepared for some things. Be that as it may, if shit does happen at least I don't have to go to work the next day.

And there's that meteor out there. We're pretty confident its going to narrowly miss us in 2029, but its going to swing back in 2036 and that's the part we're not so sure about. Maybe de-emphasizing space exploration isn't a good idea right now. But if it does come back and smack us, I don't have to worry about doing my taxes or paying bills again

I look at the bright side of things.

[KingOfZeal]

Re: Incoming Light Show

Next time of FOX - When Stars Attack.

That sounds more like the plot of a direct-to-TV sci-fi (or rather, SyFy) movie.