An Earth-directed superflare could collapse entire power grids, destroy satellites, trigger global radio blackouts, and lead to cascading infrastructure failures that result in trillions of dollars in damages.
A much worse experience 14,300 years ago called a Miyaki Event. The sky turned red and everyone thought they were going to die. Also possibly 7176 BCE, 5259 BCE, 663 BCE, 774 CE, and 993 CE.
Yes we do, they’re called Miyake events. Well, technically Miyake events are terrestrial evidence of what are assumed to be superflares, but there is significant evidence that an extremely powerful superflare like the one detailed in the post happened around 14,000 ish years ago.
Yeah, like 1812 or some shit like that. I read about that and as much as I enjoy my video games and porn we could really use a solar flare to stop all the tech bros destroying the planet.
What sucks is how quickly our population is gonna dwindle as death, disease, and starvation ruin our societies due to being so dependant on electronics.
Sure hope it happens after I die because I've already lived through enough global bullshit to have to deal with an apocalyptic event like a mega solar flare.
You do realise the infrastructure can be rebuilt tho right?
Plus that's why solar storms are now actively monitored. Then, in theory, electrical devices/stations/grids can be switched off/de energised and therefore saved from destruction if a known serious solar storm is coming.
Still terrifying don't get me wrong. That'd mean hospitals without power for days and you'd need a considerable amount of starting energy to turn the energy grids back on again once it's over.
Tbh though that might just be hard cope on my part, I'm just praying and hoping the best lmao
If we don’t turn shit off and everything is fried, it’ll be extremely difficult to rebuild because so much of our mining and manufacturing capacity is built off of unshielded or relatively unshielded wiring. Without metal and the tools to shape it, we’re fucked.
Well, when the super AI hacks the nuclear codes and takes over all infrastructures globally, the flare suddenly happens and hoomen would start worshipping the sun again like their ancestors.
People generally dont realize how helpless we actually are when it comes to natural phenomenon.
I know it sounds messed up, but learning about prehistoric mass extinctions has made me more relaxed when it comes to anxiety about climate change.
Like we are enormously lucky that volcanic activity on earth isn't what it used to be or that we havent experienced something like the paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum that lasted 200k years with global temperature hitting possibly as high as +14 Fahrenheit.
Between cosmic phenomenon and volcanic activity we're enormously lucky and if we were a more intelligent species we would have already invested heavily in climate adaptation to deal with what's coming, but also to be able to respond to solar activity and potential geological activity that wiped out other species but unfortunately we arent that bright. Bright enough to develop fictions that help us organize resources(stock markets, political systems) but not smart enough to recognize them as constructs that can be changed rather than treating them as though they are as natural and essential as breathable air, drinkable water, and fertile land.
I mean, we are currently in a mass extinction that is mainly caused by human activity. The rate of extinction is likely higher than most, if not all, the previous mass extinction events. We don’t need volcanoes to fuck us up, we’re already doing a good job at that ourselves, and it’s not just climate change.
If our species somehow manages to figure out how to survive this extinction, I fear they’ll find themselves in a world that is no longer worth surviving in.
New? This has been known for a while. 20+ years. There's been a fear of an EMP shock wave from one of the flairs taking out our electrical infrastructure.
I am not in the know, but the Carrington Event of 1859 took place months before the solar cycle actually peaked. And more recently, the flare in 2003, which knocked out power grids in Sweden and damaged satellites, occurred in late October 2003. About three years after the solar maximum had already peaked and the Sun was supposed to be quieting down.
artemistica | 2 hours ago
An Earth-directed superflare could collapse entire power grids, destroy satellites, trigger global radio blackouts, and lead to cascading infrastructure failures that result in trillions of dollars in damages.
RockRage-- | an hour ago
And my boss will still want me in the office
din7 | 30 minutes ago
Gotta make that money, sun.
Eelroots | an hour ago
If I am not mistaken, it happened in the last century, during telegraph era.
abielle1177 | an hour ago
1859 Carrington Event.
A much worse experience 14,300 years ago called a Miyaki Event. The sky turned red and everyone thought they were going to die. Also possibly 7176 BCE, 5259 BCE, 663 BCE, 774 CE, and 993 CE.
thegoldengoober | an hour ago
>The sky turned red and everyone thought they were going to die.
We would know what's going on today and that would still be the case. That must be so scary to see.
Inspect1234 | an hour ago
With wildfire smoke in the PNW you can get similar effects.
thegoldengoober | an hour ago
Oh shit, I think I've seen video of what you're talking about. Alongside fire. Some of the scariest shit.
UrDeplorable | 29 minutes ago
The carrington event was not a superflare. We have no evidence of a superflare occurring in the last 10 million years.
nari-bhat | 19 minutes ago
Yes we do, they’re called Miyake events. Well, technically Miyake events are terrestrial evidence of what are assumed to be superflares, but there is significant evidence that an extremely powerful superflare like the one detailed in the post happened around 14,000 ish years ago.
Microflunkie | an hour ago
The Carrington Event September 1859. It would be catastrophic in today’s world.
Due_Satisfaction2167 | an hour ago
We had one about half that strength back in 2024, nobody really noticed much except for the auroras super far south compared to usual.
bigfatfurrytexan | 56 minutes ago
The carrington event allowed telegraph to operate without power and they’d catch fire/electrocute operators. That other half is rough.
Due_Satisfaction2167 | 32 minutes ago
Well, no. It’s more about the massive runs of unshielded telegraph wires with absolutely no protections built in.
That’s a literal worst case scenario for geomagnetic storms.
Select_Tax_3408 | an hour ago
Yeah, like 1812 or some shit like that. I read about that and as much as I enjoy my video games and porn we could really use a solar flare to stop all the tech bros destroying the planet.
What sucks is how quickly our population is gonna dwindle as death, disease, and starvation ruin our societies due to being so dependant on electronics.
Sure hope it happens after I die because I've already lived through enough global bullshit to have to deal with an apocalyptic event like a mega solar flare.
healywylie | an hour ago
Yeah but only a chosen few can say they were there when it ended, to who I don’t know , but they could say it anyway.
thunderdome06 | 30 minutes ago
You do realise the infrastructure can be rebuilt tho right?
Plus that's why solar storms are now actively monitored. Then, in theory, electrical devices/stations/grids can be switched off/de energised and therefore saved from destruction if a known serious solar storm is coming.
Still terrifying don't get me wrong. That'd mean hospitals without power for days and you'd need a considerable amount of starting energy to turn the energy grids back on again once it's over.
Tbh though that might just be hard cope on my part, I'm just praying and hoping the best lmao
nari-bhat | 17 minutes ago
If we don’t turn shit off and everything is fried, it’ll be extremely difficult to rebuild because so much of our mining and manufacturing capacity is built off of unshielded or relatively unshielded wiring. Without metal and the tools to shape it, we’re fucked.
siqiniq | an hour ago
Well, when the super AI hacks the nuclear codes and takes over all infrastructures globally, the flare suddenly happens and hoomen would start worshipping the sun again like their ancestors.
Inspect1234 | an hour ago
It was in that moment that SKYNET became aware.
PossibleAlienFrom | 43 minutes ago
Wouldn't a super flare make SKYNET cease to exist?
Inspect1234 | 10 minutes ago
What we would be hoping for.
grateful2you | an hour ago
So... not that big of a problem. I thought it could kill us all.
Vanillas_Guy | an hour ago
People generally dont realize how helpless we actually are when it comes to natural phenomenon.
I know it sounds messed up, but learning about prehistoric mass extinctions has made me more relaxed when it comes to anxiety about climate change.
Like we are enormously lucky that volcanic activity on earth isn't what it used to be or that we havent experienced something like the paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum that lasted 200k years with global temperature hitting possibly as high as +14 Fahrenheit.
Between cosmic phenomenon and volcanic activity we're enormously lucky and if we were a more intelligent species we would have already invested heavily in climate adaptation to deal with what's coming, but also to be able to respond to solar activity and potential geological activity that wiped out other species but unfortunately we arent that bright. Bright enough to develop fictions that help us organize resources(stock markets, political systems) but not smart enough to recognize them as constructs that can be changed rather than treating them as though they are as natural and essential as breathable air, drinkable water, and fertile land.
wowwoahwow | 47 minutes ago
I mean, we are currently in a mass extinction that is mainly caused by human activity. The rate of extinction is likely higher than most, if not all, the previous mass extinction events. We don’t need volcanoes to fuck us up, we’re already doing a good job at that ourselves, and it’s not just climate change.
If our species somehow manages to figure out how to survive this extinction, I fear they’ll find themselves in a world that is no longer worth surviving in.
Crafty-Detail-3788 | 52 minutes ago
Already happened centuries ago. It destroyed telegraph
remimorin | an hour ago
Stop teasing me. Tell me when!!!
nari-bhat | 22 minutes ago
The issue is all the cool stuff would be destroyed but we’d still be alive, except with a significantly higher rate of cancer.
Jokkers_AceS | 11 minutes ago
Literally back to the Stone Age.
Fluid-Tip-5964 | 5 minutes ago
Stone age with space age knowledge...or memory. The rebuild process would be interesting. Massive cooperation or beat each other death with sticks?
teapuppee | 16 minutes ago
Well that sucks
TeamWorkTom | an hour ago
New? This has been known for a while. 20+ years. There's been a fear of an EMP shock wave from one of the flairs taking out our electrical infrastructure.
LopsidedBuffalo2085 | an hour ago
Allowing orbital data centers to suck a fat dick
microwavedtardigrade | an hour ago
At this point and this amount of shame I welcome it to directly hit the entire USA
VelkaFrey | 34 minutes ago
This isnt knew knowledge.
The carrington event was in 1859.
PossibleAlienFrom | 41 minutes ago
Didn't Nicolas Cage star in a movie about that?
MoodooScavenger | 21 minutes ago
Knowing
fluffyp0tat0 | 42 seconds ago
I've been wondering whether we take any measures to prevent superflares from knocking out nuclear reactor controls.
ToneShop | 40 minutes ago
Flair us back to the stone age please.
Ambitious-Pirate-505 | 24 minutes ago
Those of us in this space in science know that these are restricted to Solar Maximums.
NIRPL | 12 minutes ago
I am not in the know, but the Carrington Event of 1859 took place months before the solar cycle actually peaked. And more recently, the flare in 2003, which knocked out power grids in Sweden and damaged satellites, occurred in late October 2003. About three years after the solar maximum had already peaked and the Sun was supposed to be quieting down.
Entire_Month9233 | 19 minutes ago
Wooooh!
Phssthp0kThePak | 15 minutes ago
A good short story about this by Larry Niven:
Inconstant Moon
QuietBookkeeper4712 | an hour ago
garlic bread
Inspect1234 | an hour ago
root beer
snake_on_the_case | 56 minutes ago
boot rear
Justsin7 | 30 minutes ago
Bring it on!
NIRPL | 19 minutes ago
This could be helpful if/when AI starts going Skynet on our asses. Any chance we get a flare in the next century?
derrickjojo | 16 minutes ago
Is this not the plot of assassin's creed3