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Post by Fredo on Aug 1, 2013 7:48:23 GMT -5
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Post by Smilin' Jack on Aug 3, 2013 17:11:29 GMT -5
I figure that you only need to last about a month. By then most of the people that aren't going to make it, won't have made it and whatever help might be coming, will have arrived.
Stock up on air fresheners and TP.
And in case things don't quite work out as planned, lots and lots of ammo.
A 'solar killshot' seems to be only a matter of time. One day will be our unlucky day and I hope that day is during the winter.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 3, 2013 18:15:10 GMT -5
Winter, for you, might be helpful. For us, it would exaggerate the effect.
It's true that it's only a matter of time but the last major one was in 1859. With solar level stuff, the margins are pretty wide. Even so, it can't hurt to have a few extra cans of chili on hand.
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Post by Smilin' Jack on Aug 3, 2013 22:09:56 GMT -5
That too but I was thinking of the strike, should it hit us while we're in winter, will be hitting us at a more oblique angle and thus less directly. Presumably that would mean less damage. I'd rather we take a glancing blow to one straight on. Too bad for the poor bastards below the equator though, of course they're probably hoping for the same thing, a glancing blow during winter for them. Being so much farther north than Chattanooga, no matter what season it hits us, will have the magnetosphere funnelling particles towards the poles. Too bad for me. We'll take a bigger dose of whatever comes our way. The flares that the sun can throw at us can include X-rays and gamma rays. It's kind of hard to shield a house for those. A robustly lead lined room perhaps? Lead foil isn't going to cut it. We have a 6 foot steel culvert out front with about 5-6 feet of dirt over it. That would work as a shelter but you have to get a warning that the blast is coming and be close enough to the culvert so that you can get to it in time. The X-rays or gamma rays would reach us in a matter of minutes (less than 10 minutes if memory serves me) with the charged particles reaching us in a few days. You can get alerts by text or voice from www.spaceweather.comI just checked that site and you'll be happy to know that the Washington Examiner report is bogus... or is it... really? I think I'll loosen my tin-foil cap now. It seems to be a little tight. SPACE WEATHER FACT CHECK: Many readers are asking about a report in the Washington Examiner, which states that a Carrington-class solar storm narrowly missed Earth two weeks ago. There was no Carrington-class solar storm two weeks ago. On the contrary, solar activity was low throughout the month of July. The report is erroneous. The possibility of such a storm is, however, worth thinking about: A modern Carrington event would cause significant damage to our high-tech society.
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Post by Fredo on Aug 4, 2013 10:21:09 GMT -5
I also read that it didn't happen but who knows who you can believe these days? Even if the recent event (or non event) a total hoax, it's still a possibility.
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