Seems like few people are aware that the intensity and low latitude display of the Aurora Borealis, is actually the result of a near-miss by Earth from what was another potential Carrington Event from the Sun.

The sun had a massive eruption that was luckily on the far side of the Sun from us. Had it been pointed towards Earth, we may have found ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis, with satellites in orbit burned out by intense radiation, electrical power grids knocked offline by overheated transmission lines, and potential serious damage to global communications infrastructure, which could have knocked wide-swaths of the internet and mobile communication systems offline for weeks or months.

We were literally spared a serious catastrophe by random chance.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

Well we finally caught a break then.

Hehe

Would #Bitcoin survive a Carrington Event? Yes

I think it would survive. But I think the belief it would be a "honey badger" like shrug-off, would be a hopelessly naive take.

We're so desensitised by now by the pandemic, wars, inflation, politics, rampant pedophilia, culture wars, and all the other shitfuckery that's going on that, unless it happens, a there's no room to worry about another potential Carrington event

I would argue there always should be room for people to worry about existential threats. Worrying about the culture wars over the threat of a solar eruption sending us back to the Stone Age, seems like a pretty dramatic failure of risk-benefit analysis to me.

A nuclear bomb may be dropped on my city tomorrow. I've come to the realisation that I can't spend my life worrying about things that are out of my control

I mean, you listed a lot of concerns that you have, that I'd argue you have no more control over than the topic I brought up.

I’m going ice fishing tomorrow. I’m worried about whether I catch my supper.

😎

I definitely think that's a legitimate proximate concern for you.

😁

No worries mate, just don’t look up!