Thursday, April 15, 2010

Insignificant Earthlings

This is a picture of the solar flare that erupted from the surface of the sun late on April 13, 2010. The effects of the proton storm are just beginning to be felt here on earth. The effects of solar flares have influenced the course of life on this planet. The radiation released by a hearty flare could and has influenced the genetic activity of cells.
A nice big flare, like the one released on Tuesday and pictured here will just cause disruptions in radio transmissions and other electrical wave based technologies.
One thing that has already happened is a huge display of the Aurora Borealis.
To see an actual recording of the April 13th Solar flare, click here.

It's humbling to have to deal at the same time with the effects of the latest major Icelandic Volcanic Eruption. The volcano erupted from beneath a glacier. Glacial volcanic eruptions are always extremely messy. A mix of ash and steam that is amplified by the stopper effect of the ice cap. The Icelanders are ready for this kind of thing. 
But, the aviation industry all over the world is reeling from the effects of the cloud of ash as weather systems push it over northern Europe. All international flights to and from Britain and Scandanavia are suspended and no one can say for how long.
We are just insignificant earthlings. We pray to our gods, we sacrifice lambs, we fight wars over religion and then a solar flare, a volcano erupts, a meteor hits.....................

1 comment:

Engineer of Knowledge said...

Hello Microdot,
A good science posting for all to read. We mere mortals placed on this small, fragile, rocky planet with some H2O in all three forms, solid, liquid, and gas; can get so caught up in our own "sin of pride" but it only takes one of these events that can remove us all from existence.