Will Our Sun Send Out A "Killer Flare"?
Last night I watched a movie that ends with the complete destruction of Earth at the hands of a "killer solar flare." (To avoid spoilers, I won't mention which movie. Google "2009 movie solar flare" if you simply must know.) Naturally I was curious: could this really happen?
(Actually, "curious" isn't really the word. As a child, when I learned that 5 billion years from now the sun will expand and swallow the Earth in a fiery death, I didn't really understand what "5 billion years" really meant. I had nightmares about it for months - nightmares much like the one the little boy has in the movie. Accidental childhood terror alert: triggered!)
(Actually, "curious" isn't really the word. As a child, when I learned that 5 billion years from now the sun will expand and swallow the Earth in a fiery death, I didn't really understand what "5 billion years" really meant. I had nightmares about it for months - nightmares much like the one the little boy has in the movie. Accidental childhood terror alert: triggered!)
