Posted on 09/11/2010 5:44:03 AM PDT by mattstat
NASA, when it can spare time from its outreaching to the Muslims of the world, manages to fit in a little science. Like from it’s nearly spanking new Solar Dynamics Observatory.
The picture below was taken by the SDO last week.
Isn’t that slick? If you don’t immediately notice it, look at the base of the flare, where I placed a tiny blue dot, which is roughly the size of Mother Earth. (Yes, the dot is squarish; a result of my limited graphical abilities; the scale, however, is accurate.)
Now, flares are often associated with things that looks similar, but are far more dangerous: coronal mass ejections. CMEs are a wind so hot that even atoms cannot stand the pressure; they dissolve into singular protons and electrons called a plasma.
Can you imagine what would happen if a CME of the size pictured were aimed directly at the Earth? No more NASA outreach, that’s what. Nor much of anything else, either. The lesson must be: don’t anger with the sun lest it unleash its fury upon you.
Unless, that is, you are part of a technologically superior, evil, conquering alien race. It shouldn’t be too hard for these alien masterminds—or for psychotic, Earth-bound, reclusive, minion-hiring billionaires—to invent a device which manipulates the sun’s magnetic field so that it squeezes out a CME in the direction of a populated planet. Could this be the beginning of a movie treatment?
Of course, in real life, aliens aren’t interested in poking the sun, just probing lonely females. Also, when the sun lashes out, our Blue Mother protects us by ...
(Excerpt) Read more at wmbriggs.com ...
In Larry Niven’s “The Oldest Profession”, alien traders show up (on a path from a nova’d star), and commence to trade with us. A hitch- we must build them a huge launching laser for their solar sail, or they’d consider us uncivilized animals. Then they’d make our sun go nova so they could go on to the next star.
” People of Earth, attention... People of Earth attention. This is a voice speaking to you from thousands of miles beyond your planet... This is a voice speaking to you from thousands of miles beyond your planet. Look to your sun for a warning... Look to your sun for a warning”...
I'm more worried about "illegal alien conquerers"...where is Obama today anyways? Praying at a mosque?
All planets of the solar federation,
All planets of the solar federation,
We have assumed control,
We have assumed control.
All your base are belong to us!
http://martnet.com/base.shtml
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