Solar flares - Lucie Green

Solar flares - Lucie Green

Siobhan4153 20 Dec 2012 20:47

So I'm relatively calm with random intervals of panic…but only one thing seems to be worrying me right now…and that's a big solar flare.

Did anyone watch the third SLOOH segment in which Lucie Green appeared and talked about solar flares? Well she mentioned a big one (I can't remember the name of it - didn't it begin with a C?) which expands when it approaches the earth so the earth ends up dwarfed by it…and that would cause quite a bit of damage? Anyway am I right in assuming she said that could potentially happen tomorrow? Or is it just my worry clouding my mind? It was hard to keep up because she kept going offline.
If someone could explain this to me that would be awesome.

PS: I was reluctant to make a new thread on here but I didn't want to hijack someone else's post with this in case it freaked them out.

Re: Solar flares - Lucie Green

Tomy2011 20 Dec 2012 21:01

Anyway am I right in assuming she said that could potentially happen tomorrow?

If she mentions a CME, then it could happen at anytime, mostly during solar maximums. But Earth is protected by the magnetosphere, so there is no reason to worry about it.

Re: Solar flares - Lucie Green

jasonb75 20 Dec 2012 21:17

Nasa and other space agencies watch the sun on a continual basis. There is nothing to fear with regards to our sun. I honestly don't care what someone says on slooh, because that is independently operated. I doubt a CME is on the horizon for tomorrow, but they can happen any time. No one cared a damn about our sun prior to 2012, why should they now with respect to flares and cme's. If your over the age of 12, 24,36, then you've already experienced 1 to several solar max's with hundreds if not thousands of flares and CME's and I bet you have never noticed its affects before. The sun is the giver of life, don't fret over it, embrace it…Grow a tomato plant…lol

Re: Solar flares - Lucie Green

Gary A 20 Dec 2012 21:22

Well she mentioned a big one (I can't remember the name of it - didn't it begin with a C?) which expands when it approaches the earth so the earth ends up dwarfed by it…and that would cause quite a bit of damage?

A CME? A CME is a huge cloud of charged particles, as it travels across space from the sun toward earth, it dissipates and can indeed dwarf earth. The point is that this cloud of particles is about as dense as cigarette smoke, it's like expecting to die because you walked into a bit of foggy weather. The magnetic field of earth protects us from such eruptions, and causes the aurora at the poles. Do not worry about this type of thing, it's just the sun being the sun.

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The great thing about science is, it's true whether you believe in it or not.

Re: Solar flares - Lucie Green

JamesJJlm 20 Dec 2012 22:11

A coronal mass ejection (CME) can happen at anytime. More frequently during solar maximum. Like everyone has explained, a CME can not cause physical damage to the Earth. The only damage it could possibly cause is to some sattelites in orbit and electronics due to charged particles. There have been several that have come in contact with the Earth this year, have you noticed any?

I assure you, there is no need to fear the sun.

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