[HN Gopher] Deep Space Trajectories: Exiting the Heliosphere
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       Deep Space Trajectories: Exiting the Heliosphere
        
       Author : well_i_never
       Score  : 46 points
       Date   : 2024-04-20 20:07 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.centauri-dreams.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.centauri-dreams.org)
        
       | kibwen wrote:
       | That image showing the potential shape of the heliosphere is very
       | interesting, I wonder how it's possible for those weird cutout
       | shapes to form in the heliosphere's tail.
       | 
       | Also, this is wild:
       | 
       |  _> Along the evolutionary path, high interstellar cloud
       | densities and ionization fractions have likely compressed the
       | heliosphere down to below 25 au... Evidence is emerging for
       | supernovae explosions as recent as 3 million years ago at only
       | 20-50 pc from the Sun that probably compressed the heliosphere
       | even below the orbit of Saturn and perhaps more, exposing the
       | terrestrial planets to almost the full force of interstellar
       | material and GCRs_
        
       | greenavocado wrote:
       | I recently watched an interesting YouTube video which discusses
       | potential disaster scenarios. The video itself rambles on and is
       | difficult to follow but it raises some interesting points
       | (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihwoIlxHI3Q):
       | 
       | The Earth's magnetic field is weakening at an accelerating rate,
       | signaling an upcoming magnetic excursion or reversal event within
       | the next few decades.
       | 
       | This magnetic event is part of a recurring catastrophic cycle
       | that happens roughly every 12,000 years and is triggered by the
       | solar system's interaction with the galactic current sheet.
       | 
       | The interaction with the galactic current sheet will cause a
       | "micronova" event on the Sun, leading to massive solar eruptions
       | and disruptions to the Earth's systems.
       | 
       | Evidence for these recurring catastrophic events can be found in
       | geological records, ancient stories and myths from around the
       | world, and ongoing changes observed on other planets and nearby
       | stars.
       | 
       | The author suggests that the government and elites are aware of
       | this impending disaster and are secretly preparing underground
       | shelters and bunkers.
       | 
       | The author encourages mental and practical preparedness for this
       | event, including understanding local geography, resources, and
       | potential safe locations.
       | 
       | According to the author, the galactic current sheet causes the
       | recurring catastrophic cycle on Earth by triggering a "micronova"
       | event on the Sun. Specifically, the author argues that:
       | 
       | - The solar system periodically passes through the high-density,
       | dusty region of the galactic current sheet, which separates the
       | north and south galactic magnetic fields.
       | 
       | - When the Sun enters this galactic current sheet region, the
       | combination of the high dust/gas density, reversed galactic
       | magnetic fields, and additional energetic particles causes
       | instability and disruption to the Sun.
       | 
       | - This disruption from the galactic current sheet triggers rare,
       | extremely powerful solar outbursts from the Sun, which the author
       | refers to as a "micronova" event.
       | 
       | - These "micronova" solar outbursts then impact the Earth,
       | causing catastrophic effects like disrupting the boundary between
       | the crust and mantle (the low velocity zone), inducing crustal
       | displacement or rotation changes, generating intense cosmic ray
       | bombardment, and potentially leading to climate changes and ice
       | ages.
       | 
       | So in the author's view, it is the periodic intersection of the
       | solar system with the high-density, magnetically-reversed
       | galactic current sheet that provides the trigger to set off the
       | chain of events culminating in the catastrophic "micronova" solar
       | outbursts that devastate the Earth on a roughly 12,000 year
       | cycle.
        
         | pfdietz wrote:
         | > The interaction with the galactic current sheet will cause a
         | "micronova" event on the Sun, leading to massive solar
         | eruptions and disruptions to the Earth's systems.
         | 
         | This sounds completely implausible.
        
           | greenavocado wrote:
           | Yeah, I don't really buy it either as the evidence is weak.
           | The author does provide some references to some astronomers
           | and physicists hypothesizing about past "immense solar
           | outbursts" from the Sun, orders of magnitude more powerful
           | than modern events but no specific observations or data are
           | cited.
           | 
           | There is also some discussion of "recurrent novae," faint and
           | fast "dwarf novae," and simulations of triggering mechanisms
           | that could produce nova-level energy releases from stars
           | interacting with phenomena like interstellar dust clouds but
           | I'm not sure if the scales of any of those match what the
           | ancient peoples described or if the simulations results are
           | even plausible.
           | 
           | Still an interesting theory imo.
        
             | GolfPopper wrote:
             | Not quite the same thing, but Miyake events [1] are along
             | the same lines; well-documented historical records of
             | planet-wide radiation spikes that make the Carrington Event
             | look like a walk in the park by comparison.
             | 
             | 1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mystery-of-
             | ancien...
        
             | pfdietz wrote:
             | Are you sure you didn't read something from one of those
             | Electric Sun cranks?
        
           | marcosdumay wrote:
           | As compared to the galaxy magnetic field inducing change on
           | the Earth's?
           | 
           | The entire thing is ridiculous.
           | 
           | Oh, and that 12k year "geological cycle" (AKA random
           | fluctuations that somebody got famous for mischaracterizing)
           | is the weakest one without any visible consequences. The
           | larger ones are much more interesting.
        
             | JumpCrisscross wrote:
             | > _that 12k year "geological cycle"_
             | 
             | It's worse than that. The 12,000 years comes from "the
             | duration of a full reversal" being "between 2,000 and
             | 12,000 years" [1]. They took the duration of a phenomenon
             | and mistook it for its frequency.
             | 
             | [1]
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal#History
        
             | pfdietz wrote:
             | That's equally ludicrous, yes. I didn't read beyond those
             | two.
        
         | JumpCrisscross wrote:
         | > _magnetic event is part of a recurring catastrophic cycle
         | that happens roughly every 12,000 years_
         | 
         | It's not catastrophic unless you're a computer orbiting near
         | the magnetopause, and it happens "on average once every
         | ~450,000 years" [1].
         | 
         | > _ancient stories and myths from around the world_
         | 
         | The last reversal occured 780,000 years ago. The author is
         | claiming million-year old myths.
         | 
         | > _the north and south galactic magnetic fields_
         | 
         | This isn't a thing [2].
         | 
         | > _author suggests that the government and elites are aware of
         | this impending disaster and are secretly preparing underground
         | shelters and bunkers_
         | 
         | Why would you keep watching...
         | 
         | [1]
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal#Effects_o...
         | 
         | [2] https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2014/09/03/why-dont-
         | galaxie...
        
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