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Earth's magnetosphere, which shields us from deadly solar radiation is decaying rapidly. When it collapses, as Mars's did billions of years ago, Earth will be stripped of its atmosphere, water and life. This episode explores new evidence that the Earth's magnetic poles are on the verge of reversing. As it does, Earth's magnetosphere will weaken greatly for thousands of years, allowing solar radiation to penetrate to the Earth's surface. This will threaten many species, including man, with extinction.
Could we be heading for a demagnetized doomsday that will leave us defenseless against the lethal effects of solar wind and cosmic rays? "Magnetic Storm - Earth's Invisible Shield" looks into our potentially unsettling magnetic future.
NARRATOR: It's impossible to know for sure, but the best guess is that every year a hundred thousand people would die from the increased levels of space radiation. But of course this would still represent only a relatively small increase in the overall incidence of cancer.
GARY GLATZMAIER: So it's not going to be catastrophic. It'll be something to be concerned about, but it won't be a catastrophic event. And certainly by the time it happens, civilization will have figured out how to deal with it.
MARIO ACUNA: The field will come back. In the case of Mars we know that the field will not come back, and it has been gone for billions of years, so the effect has been very, very serious on the Mars atmosphere. But on the Earth's atmosphere just a few thousand years of no magnetic field are not expected to result in a very large stripping of the atmosphere.
NARRATOR: Scientists now know that the magnetic reversal that is inevitably coming will have serious consequences for our descendents, but it won't be a disaster for planet Earth. And as our children's children's children wait for north to become south, they may find that a world without a strong magnetic field has its compensations.
ANDREW COATES: The great thing is that it would be possible to see the aurora just about every night all over the Earth. So London, behind me, for example, we might be able to see great aurora just about every night of the year, shimmering and moving in the sky as the solar wind hits the atmosphere directly, and it glows like a neon light.
GARY GLATZMAIER: Aurora will be very exciting. I can imagine a very exciting, very interesting dynamic magnetic field outside of the Earth during the next reversal.
MIKE FULLER: I would love to see a reversal happening, but it would involve me living rather longer than I plan to. But that would be very nice. In fact it's one of the great tragedies of life, we never see how these things work out!
ROB COE: I'd really like to know how it does it and why it does it. And when will it do it again?
None of us will be around for the next magnetic reversal. But on NOVA's Website, get a sneak preview of what the night sky will look like when it happens. Find it on PBS.org.
Originally posted by Mac405
Originally posted by Elostone
Hello fellow ATSers
I have left the SoCal area and am currently in my motorhome,in the Hi Desert on the NV/UT border, waiting to see what, if anything happens.
Because I am in a motorhome, I feel every ground movement, and I just felt 2 tremors in the past 10 min. I am waiting for the USGS EQ site to update as I write this...
I also have been watching NICT, which I have had bookmarked for months now, and it looks to me as tho the outer shield on the pressure image is thinning...is it just me, or is that how it appears to you all as well?
Hoping for the best, (but hopefully, prepared for the worst)
ELOedit on 30-3-2011 by Elostone because: (no reason given)edit on 30-3-2011 by Elostone because: (no reason given)
The border of UT and NV are deemed a danger zone-safe haven is at the FOUR CORNERS area-at least thats what the Hopi say.....
Originally posted by Mac405
Do you think this has something to do with the reason why all of the South and North Pole Stations are now
AIRBRUSHED FROM GOOGLE MAPS? I was just looking at them a few weeks ago-now its just an ugly smudge covering up all the bases.
Perhaps the last quake destabilized something there that the powers-that-be don't want us to see?