• Question: Do the solar flares put us at a serious risk ?

    Asked by dawarboss to Asif, Laura, Lena, Sean, Viv on 16 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Sean Murphy

      Sean Murphy answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      But could a Solar flare actually destroy all life on the Earth? Unfortunately the answer is yes. Although the Sun is remarkably stable it does go through phases of increased activity. We are currently exiting one such phase where Solar activity was again at the peak of its 11 year cycle. Most likely the worst effects we could encounter will be disruption of electronic communication with threats to space satellites and telecommunications.

    • Photo: Laura Waters

      Laura Waters answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      I think we are more at risk of a small flare that knocks out our communication systems and that causes us to die, like if we were on a plane or something.

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