Scary doomsday coincidence?

[smileyman]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,478024,00.html
A new study from the National Academy of Sciences outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.

Damage to power grids and other communications systems could be catastrophic, the scientists conclude, with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.

The prediction is based in part on a major solar storm in 1859 that caused telegraph wires to short out in the United States and Europe, igniting widespread fires.

It was perhaps the worst in the past 200 years, according to the new study, and with the advent of modern power grids and satellites, much more is at risk.

"A contemporary repetition of the [1859] event would cause significantly more extensive (and possibly catastrophic) social and economic disruptions," the researchers conclude.

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center.

'Command and control might be lost'

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Mystery Roar Detected From Faraway Space Cosmic Surprise: Black Holes Older Than Galaxies Five Ways the World Can End Solar-Flare Surprise: Pure Hydrogen Shot at Earth Magnetic Field Hole Could Cripple Communications When the sun is in the active phase of its 11-year cycle, it can unleash powerful magnetic storms that disable satellites, threaten astronaut safety, and even disrupt communication systems on Earth.

The worst storms can knock out power grids by inducing currents that melt transformers.

Modern power grids are so interconnected that a big space storm — the type expected to occur about once a century — could cause a cascade of failures that would sweep across the United States, cutting power to 130 million people or more in this country alone, the new report concludes.

Such widespread power outages, though expected to be a rare possibility, would affect other vital systems.

"Impacts would be felt on interdependent infrastructures with, for example, potable water distribution affected within several hours; perishable foods and medications lost in 12-24 hours; immediate or eventual loss of heating/air conditioning, sewage disposal, phone service, transportation, fuel resupply and so on," the report states.

Outages could take months to fix, the researchers say. Banks might close, and trade with other countries might halt.

"Emergency services would be strained, and command and control might be lost," write the researchers, led by Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"Whether it is terrestrial catastrophes or extreme space weather incidents, the results can be devastating to modern societies that depend in a myriad of ways on advanced technological systems," Baker said in a statement released with the report.

Stormy past

Solar storms have had significant effects in modern time:

— In 1989, the sun unleashed a tempest that knocked out power to all of Quebec, Canada.

— A remarkable 2003 rampage included 10 major solar flares over a two-week period, knocking out two Earth-orbiting satellites and crippling an instrument aboard a Mars orbiter.

"Obviously, the sun is Earth's life blood," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics division at NASA. "To mitigate possible public safety issues, it is vital that we better understand extreme space weather events caused by the sun's activity."

"Space weather can produce solar storm electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, causing wide-spread blackouts and affecting communication cables that support the Internet," the report states. "Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles and the dislocation of the Earth's radiation belts, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning and weather forecasting."

Rush to prepare

The race is on for better forecasting abilities, as the next peak in solar activity is expected to come around 2012.



http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...r_fiction.html

Mayan Calendar Doomsday: Fact or Fiction?
June 12, 2007 by Wesley Hickox Wesley Hickox Published Content: 1 Total Views: 0 Favorited By: 0 CPs Full Profile | Subscribe | Add to Favorites Recommend (2)Single page Font SizeRead comments (9) The Mayan Calendar comes to a screeching halt in the year 2012. Or does it? Many archaeologists, scientists and philosophers have been studying the Mayan Calendar over the last several years, drivenin part by the supposed apocalyptic ending of the calendar, and the fears that it may signal the end of humanity.

Let me dispel some of the obvious myths involved here:

The Mayan Calendar is a calendar of creation. There is no doubt that the Mayan Calendar comes to an end in the very near future. However, the end of the calendar is October 28, 2011. How do we know this? Archaeologists discovered a stone at the ancient site of Coba in the Yucatan. When they raised the stone, they discovered that carvings on the stone showed the creation date of the Mayan Calendar. When the carvings were translated they found the start date of the most recent period and could then extrapolate the ending date more accurately.

Even though the Mayan Calendar has an ending date, nothing about the Calendar or the Mayan prophecies points to humanity's demise. On the contrary, it may actually point to our return to the recognition of our purpose here on earth and the destiny to which we are evolving. As such then, the Mayan calendar is much more about our evolution than our destruction.

The Mayans actually used many calendars in their daily lives. The most important one they used is called the Tzolkin and is a 260 day calendar. Each day of the Tzolkin is assigned a number 1-13 called an intention and each day has a sun sign of which there are 20. 13 x 20 gives you 260 discrete days. The Mayan's would start their days by acknowledging the creative impulse of the day and would structure their day by that energy. Each person was then infused with the Intention and Creative Impulse of the day in which they were born. The calendar was so important to the Mayan's, that their first name was always the name of the sun sign of their day of birth!

Janet Hickox is a well-studied teacher of Mayan Astrology and the Mayan Calendar.

[AquaPython]

eh, a rogue solar flare could cook us all at any moment. it is one of the top 10 most likely ways the earth as we know it would cease to exist. it is something we have no control of and no way to predict. hasn't happened yet, so all we can do is keep on truckin and get off this planet before it does.

[Particle Man]

who's bringing the beer to the end of the world party?

I'll bring chips...

[xx CURVE xx]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

who's bringing the beer to the end of the world party?

I'll bring chips...

i'll bring the pot