When astronauts visit the sun, it will have to be at night of course.
Scratching an irresistible geek impulse:
Geosynchronous communications satellites are in eclipse for only a few minutes each year, around the equinoxes. So even if it’s dark on your side of the world, you would likely lose your satellite feeds.
NIGHT-GAUNT Sorry I misunderstood the Global Warming theory. I thought they believed that carbon, changed to a sold form (perhaps by sun shine causing photosynthesis) was released into the atmosphere by man’s burning and animal emissions, preventing the solar radiation from bouncing back from the earth. Notice I said sun twice.
Ever been in the hot desert and forget your coat when the sun goes down? Deny solar warming. Need more, put a quarter in the sun in July. Pick it up in a couple of hours. I know these proofs are childish but I’m talking to an Al believer. (Pay your $8 to see that “documentary”?)
Two things going on here. First, a Coronal Mass Ejection (a fast-moving glob of plasma) that hits Earth (a moving target) will likely scrag some satellites, and auroras will be the only nice part. We’ll be able to see them really well, with all the lights out, and radio/TV reception will be pretty bad. That’s real, and we’ve been pretty lucky so far.
Now the other: Climate Change. That’s real, and the energy put into the heat engine we call climate makes our weather weirder; noticed any of that lately? Thought you might.
Put that carbon back into solid form; plant (and nurture) a tree, Mom Nature’s Air Conditioner. If everybody on the planet did just that one thing, it would help lots. It’s about how much sunshine heat we keep, and there are several gases that affect that, including cow farts and water vapor.
Of course, as far up the ‘hockey stick’ curve as we already are, it will take a while to catch up, but we’ve gotta start where we are, and now is almost too late.
If you are told it’s all a hoax, find out who’s paying the bills for that mis-information; likely Big Oil and it’s PR firms, with an industry to lose if we walk away from it. The data is real science. Sorry, Mr. Koch, it’s a real problem.
Changes in the Sun’s output (and our slightly variable orbital distance) do have major effects here, probably including the Little Ice Age (14th-19th centuries).
The Sun, being a (slightly) variable star, has been fairly constant at 1367W/m^2 (about 1000 on the ground) for a while lately, but yes, it’s the main input to all our energy (including that stored in oil and coal and wood). See the articles about the ACRIM project I used to work on at JPL.
And yes, when I lived in the high desert as a kid, we tried to warn visitors to bring a jacket for evenings, even in Summer. The heat capacity of dry sand is pretty low, and the temperature almost does a square wave overnight.
The sun does not contribute to nuclear energy, pbarnrob, nor to tidal energy, nor to geothermal. Tidal energy comes from our interaction with the moon, and geothermal is partly tidal friction and partly radioactive decay.
The sun does provide wind energy and hydraulic energy, though; and of course wood and oil as you point out.
margueritem over 13 years ago
All blondes know that the sun is much cooler at night!
Rakkav over 13 years ago
A mind is a terrible thing to have emptied by multiple alien abductions.
zero over 13 years ago
Hope is gossamer
Coyoty Premium Member over 13 years ago
It will happen at night for half the world. That half will be lucky because they’ll be sleeping and not doing anything for the storms to mess up.
x_Tech over 13 years ago
^And wake up in the morning with no GoComics. You Call that Lucky!
Bilan over 13 years ago
Actually, there is a nighttime on the space station (or perhaps you’d rather refer to it as eclipse).
But it only about 45 minutes long; so let’s hope the eruption is a quick one.
Trebor39 over 13 years ago
Oh oh, a solar flare could wreck my whole day!
Ray_C over 13 years ago
When astronauts visit the sun, it will have to be at night of course.
Scratching an irresistible geek impulse: Geosynchronous communications satellites are in eclipse for only a few minutes each year, around the equinoxes. So even if it’s dark on your side of the world, you would likely lose your satellite feeds.
We now return you to enjoying the comic.
Varnes over 13 years ago
The auroras would be awesome……
lewisbower over 13 years ago
I’ve been telling Al for years. the sun is the cause of Global Warming. Being a Democrat, he won’t listen to my nuclear option.
Nighthawks Premium Member over 13 years ago
umbrellas. everybody should carry umbrellas
Sherlock Watson over 13 years ago
“A solar eruption from the sun”? As opposed to one from the moon, perhaps?
lewisbower over 13 years ago
NIGHT-GAUNT Sorry I misunderstood the Global Warming theory. I thought they believed that carbon, changed to a sold form (perhaps by sun shine causing photosynthesis) was released into the atmosphere by man’s burning and animal emissions, preventing the solar radiation from bouncing back from the earth. Notice I said sun twice. Ever been in the hot desert and forget your coat when the sun goes down? Deny solar warming. Need more, put a quarter in the sun in July. Pick it up in a couple of hours. I know these proofs are childish but I’m talking to an Al believer. (Pay your $8 to see that “documentary”?)
puddleglum1066 over 13 years ago
Ray–Not so, the astronauts will visit during an eclipse!
pbarnrob over 13 years ago
Two things going on here. First, a Coronal Mass Ejection (a fast-moving glob of plasma) that hits Earth (a moving target) will likely scrag some satellites, and auroras will be the only nice part. We’ll be able to see them really well, with all the lights out, and radio/TV reception will be pretty bad. That’s real, and we’ve been pretty lucky so far.
Now the other: Climate Change. That’s real, and the energy put into the heat engine we call climate makes our weather weirder; noticed any of that lately? Thought you might.
Put that carbon back into solid form; plant (and nurture) a tree, Mom Nature’s Air Conditioner. If everybody on the planet did just that one thing, it would help lots. It’s about how much sunshine heat we keep, and there are several gases that affect that, including cow farts and water vapor.
Of course, as far up the ‘hockey stick’ curve as we already are, it will take a while to catch up, but we’ve gotta start where we are, and now is almost too late.
If you are told it’s all a hoax, find out who’s paying the bills for that mis-information; likely Big Oil and it’s PR firms, with an industry to lose if we walk away from it. The data is real science. Sorry, Mr. Koch, it’s a real problem.
Changes in the Sun’s output (and our slightly variable orbital distance) do have major effects here, probably including the Little Ice Age (14th-19th centuries).
The Sun, being a (slightly) variable star, has been fairly constant at 1367W/m^2 (about 1000 on the ground) for a while lately, but yes, it’s the main input to all our energy (including that stored in oil and coal and wood). See the articles about the ACRIM project I used to work on at JPL.
And yes, when I lived in the high desert as a kid, we tried to warn visitors to bring a jacket for evenings, even in Summer. The heat capacity of dry sand is pretty low, and the temperature almost does a square wave overnight.
Ray_C over 13 years ago
The sun does not contribute to nuclear energy, pbarnrob, nor to tidal energy, nor to geothermal. Tidal energy comes from our interaction with the moon, and geothermal is partly tidal friction and partly radioactive decay. The sun does provide wind energy and hydraulic energy, though; and of course wood and oil as you point out.
JP Steve Premium Member over 13 years ago
^which explains why there is no discernible difference between weather conditions on Mars, Venus and Earth!