At http://phys.org/print325476995.html … we have an analysis of a solar flare in 2012 that just missed the Earth and NASA, after examining the data, are saying that we are lucky people. If the sun had erupted on week earlier the Earth would have been in direct line of fire. They are now saying it was as big as the 19th century Carrington Event. However, it missed us so we do not really know if it really would have been as disastrous as NASA are projecting. Some say the Carrington Event is overdone and overblown – but opinions vary. The 2012 event would have had the temerity to cause a massive glitch in computer and mobile phone networks – but is that necessarily a bad thing. It could have wiped out computer records from public utilities, medical establishments and hospital records, the police, the military, banks and bank facilities such as wage cheques, big time finance and big time investments, and no end of things that have become the backbone of our society. The bottom line is that modern society is incredibly open to the whims of the Sun and the occasional CME. The Greens want to regulate us all back into the stone age – one big solar storm could take us there in moments. Have a look at this …
