An aurora named Steve.

[BaalChatzaf]

An aurora somewhat south of the Aurora Borealis has been observed.  It is persistent so it is not just a glitch. The physicists are working on an explanation.  

Please see: 

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/3/eaaq0030.full

 

[Peter]

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 1:00 PM, BaalChatzaf said:

An aurora somewhat south of the Aurora Borealis has been observed.  It is persistent so it is not just a glitch. The physicists are working on an explanation.  

Please see: 

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/3/eaaq0030.full

 

I wonder if the aurora’s “light” is another manifestation of an industrialized society or simply a natural phenomenon? With our TV and radio waves, we are constantly beaming news of ourselves to the galaxy yelling: “Hey! Here we are!” I know many scientists think we should never advertise our presence but we are already doing it.

And as our telescopes scan the skies we are always looking for signals and talkback. Here are a few questions to ponder.

How far do humanity’s signals and signs of intelligent life extend into the galaxy?

If a comparable civilization is also looking for inhabited planets in the “livable zone,” (which could be a similar distance from our sun,) what are the odds the aliens will spot us, or us them?

Most scientists think “life” will spontaneously come into existence on many of our galaxy’s planets as it did on earth, so what advance in seeing and detection will we need to possess before we sense our neighbors?

Would a bright, pulsing light be a better signal than radio waves?

[BaalChatzaf]

2 hours ago, Peter said:

I wonder if the aurora’s “light” is another manifestation of an industrialized society or simply a natural phenomenon? With our TV and radio waves, we are constantly beaming news of ourselves to the galaxy yelling: “Hey! Here we are!” I know many scientists think we should never advertise our presence but we are already doing it.

And as our telescopes scan the skies we are always looking for signals and talkback. Here are a few questions to ponder.

How far do humanity’s signals and signs of intelligent life extend into the galaxy?

If a comparable civilization is also looking for inhabited planets in the “livable zone,” (which could be a similar distance from our sun,) what are the odds the aliens will spot us, or us them?

Most scientists think “life” will spontaneously come into existence on many of our galaxy’s planets as it did on earth, so what advance in seeing and detection will we need to possess before we sense our neighbors?

Would a bright, pulsing light be a better signal than radio waves?

Since it is an aurora it has to do with the earth's magnetic field interacting which charged particles from the Sun.  My guess is that this odd aurora is an indication of the earth's magnetic field beginning to shift.  The poles of the earth have shifted many times in the past ten's and hundreds of millions of years.  Polar magnetism has been weakening steadily for the past century and we are overdue for a polar shift. Have a look at this:  https://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-shows-that-earth-s-magnetic-field-is-weakening-more-rapidly-than-we-thought  and this https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/earth-magnetic-field-south-atlantic-anomaly-africa-science/

 

[Peter]

From the referenced article: New Study Shows How Rapidly Earth's Magnetic Field Is Changing. The North Pole is shifting. By FIONA MACDONALD 11 MAY 2016.

. . . . One of the most likely explanations for what we're seeing is that our magnetic poles are getting ready to flip - something that happens once every 100,000 years or so, and that sounds a lot scarier than it really is. There's no evidence that life on Earth suffered when this happened in the past - the most likely impact is that our compasses would eventually point south instead of north . . . .

. . . . The research could also help us finally understand why our planet's magnetic field is weakening overall, and how that's going to affect us in future. Because a pole flip probably won't be a big deal, but it's nice to make sure - if our magnetic sphere is about to go the way of Mars's, that's something we need to know about . . . . end quote

Wow. Even after I changed the font to be uniform, some of the letters in the quote are still big. And that isn’t scary? Until the author mentioned Mars (will this have an effect on our atmosphere?) I was simply thinking east and west would remain the same, and north and south would remain the same on a map, but a compass would point south where the N used to be . . . . uh, let me start over. We would still call them the north and south poles, but our GPS systems would take us in the wrong direction . . . but, that could be easily corrected. We could say, “Siri, which way is North Dakota?” instead of, “Siri, which way is north?” No, that can’t be right either.

What if we just put an N over the S on a compass? No. That doesn’t make any sense. Will we need to point television antennas in the opposite direction to receive a good signal? Which way would Mars be in relation to us, anyway? Would they rename that nerdy TV show “The Big Wang Theory?” since after the shift, scientists would always point further south when they pee? Would toilets flush upwards?    

[BaalChatzaf]

20 hours ago, Peter said:

From the referenced article: New Study Shows How Rapidly Earth's Magnetic Field Is Changing. The North Pole is shifting. By FIONA MACDONALD 11 MAY 2016.

. . . . One of the most likely explanations for what we're seeing is that our magnetic poles are getting ready to flip - something that happens once every 100,000 years or so, and that sounds a lot scarier than it really is. There's no evidence that life on Earth suffered when this happened in the past - the most likely impact is that our compasses would eventually point south instead of north . . . .

. . . . The research could also help us finally understand why our planet's magnetic field is weakening overall, and how that's going to affect us in future. Because a pole flip probably won't be a big deal, but it's nice to make sure - if our magnetic sphere is about to go the way of Mars's, that's something we need to know about . . . . end quote

Wow. Even after I changed the font to be uniform, some of the letters in the quote are still big. And that isn’t scary? Until the author mentioned Mars (will this have an effect on our atmosphere?) I was simply thinking east and west would remain the same, and north and south would remain the same on a map, but a compass would point south where the N used to be . . . . uh, let me start over. We would still call them the north and south poles, but our GPS systems would take us in the wrong direction . . . but, that could be easily corrected. We could say, “Siri, which way is North Dakota?” instead of, “Siri, which way is north?” No, that can’t be right either.

What if we just put an N over the S on a compass? No. That doesn’t make any sense. Will we need to point television antennas in the opposite direction to receive a good signal? Which way would Mars be in relation to us, anyway? Would they rename that nerdy TV show “The Big Wang Theory?” since after the shift, scientists would always point further south when they pee? Would toilets flush upwards?    

We are just about due for a polar flip.  The process is not instantaneous.  It could take centuries.  However we shall start to see aurora  over unlikely places  such as central America and Hawaii and the magnetic compass deviations will increase much more rapidly than they have in the past.  The magnet field will never really go to zero, but there will be a period when more cosmic rays reach the ground. That could have some agricultural and medical consequences. For example when the cosmic ray bombardment is maximus there may be more cases of cancer do to the DNA damage that cosmic ray cause.  

The polar flip will have little or no influence on our orbit around the Sun. Mars will still be going as it has for the past billions of years as will the Earth.  Cosmic rays have no influence on gravitation.  However cosmic rays and charge particle infusion from the sun will  affect our over the air transmission of signals. It will also play hob with our satellites.  Many of them may be fried. This will affect the quality of GPS  reckoning.  It may also mean more Carrington type events.  In 1859  we got hit by the Mother of Solar Storms.  The Carrington Event burned out telegraph lines and caused some of the batteries that powered the telegraph to explode.  There were reports of telegraphers being shocked and burned by their telegraph keys.  Had we been dependent on electric power networks at the time, we would have been in deep kimchi.  We did not have AC and transformers then but if we had transformers would have been exploding and burning all over the world and there would have been major power failures.  We can expect more of such woe in the future as the polar flip progresses.

 

 

[Peter]

Ba’al wrote: For example when the cosmic ray bombardment is maximus there may be more cases of cancer due to the DNA damage that cosmic rays cause. end quote

You are just like George Burns setting up Gracie Allen’s joke.  Should I wear my Yankees’ baseball cap or my tin foil Amish farmer’s hat on that day? Should the faithful pray for rain? And now, this is Ted Baxter with today’s weather: Cloudy with a chance of boils. I know when they give an ozone alert I try to NEVER venture into the great outdoors. Good night Twin Cities.

Ba’al wrote: We can expect more of such woe in the future as the polar flip progresses. end quote

I remember bad transistor radio reception in the early sixties during a solar storm and when we had satellite TV we were affected by every anomaly including snow storms.  I suppose cable will still be of good quality during a sun storm, but please “Big Guy in the Sky,” no more east coast blackouts OR Lil Kim setting off an electro - magnetic pulse.

When we got home tonight I could smell the chicken manure that had just been spread on the field situated on the eastern side of our house. The next burning question is: Cough. Cough. Will we have soybeans or corn growing next to us this year?   

[BaalChatzaf]

10 hours ago, Peter said:

Ba’al wrote: For example when the cosmic ray bombardment is maximus there may be more cases of cancer due to the DNA damage that cosmic rays cause. end quote

You are just like George Burns setting up Gracie Allen’s joke.  Should I wear my Yankees’ baseball cap or my tin foil Amish farmer’s hat on that day? Should the faithful pray for rain? And now, this is Ted Baxter with today’s weather: Cloudy with a chance of boils. I know when they give an ozone alert I try to NEVER venture into the great outdoors. Good night Twin Cities.

Ba’al wrote: We can expect more of such woe in the future as the polar flip progresses. end quote

I remember bad transistor radio reception in the early sixties during a solar storm and when we had satellite TV we were affected by every anomaly including snow storms.  I suppose cable will still be of good quality during a sun storm, but please “Big Guy in the Sky,” no more east coast blackouts OR Lil Kim setting off an electro - magnetic pulse.

When we got home tonight I could smell the chicken manure that had just been spread on the field situated on the eastern side of our house. The next burning question is: Cough. Cough. Will we have soybeans or corn growing next to us this year?   

I am just stating the facts.  The more that cosmic rays reach the ground the higher the cancer rate from cosmic radiation will be.  Statistically it will a very small increment in the probability of getting cancer from radiation.  There are plenty of other causes of cancer which will not be affected by increased cosmic ray influx.  Cosmic rays are part and parcel of of existence on earth. It is almost certain that cosmic rays have caused genetic mutations so cosmic radiation is one of the drivers of evolution.  Basically nature  is not our friend.  The physical universe is full of hazards and impediments to living beings.  That is just the way it is.  The raw forces of nature  make life a bit of a crap-shoot.  We evolved in such a way to blunt some of these forces  but not all.  Life is hazardous.  And no matter how successful we are at "dodging the bullets"   we will eventually die.  Entropy will have its way with us.  In the long run the Cosmos itself will become cold and dark, all life anywhere will cease.  But soft!.  That will happen very long from now and our species  will be dead and gone long before that. 

[Peter]

There is not enough evidence to support (as yet) the theory of constant big bangs or rebirth of the universe, or even other dimensions with existing life, but we are constantly adding to our knowledge and abilities. Remember Scifi movies with flip phones, Dick Tracey with his wrist phone, the comedic phone shoe, and hypothetical ‘this and thats’ like virtual reality?

It’s all second nature to us now, so I am of the opinion we are “determined” because we evolved to succeed and not fail, after a crucial level of existence was achieved. Every day something new and good is achieved. Genetic engineering and dispersal of the species will be the next steps in our continued evolution. Freedom works. Totalitarianism and economic planning failed. Lesson learned. We shall thrive.

One odd aberration is Russian and Putin. His “subjects” still seem to want him to take away their freedoms as long as Russia becomes a great empire, so they happily vote for him, like the downtrodden Germans voted for Hitler after the humiliation of WWI. Another aberration is Kim Jun Un staying in power as long as he has without becoming a lead filled carcass. I don’t think it will be long though, because the desired place to live is in the freer West. See that beacon just over the horizon, Comrade?