Our little inconsequential star has (by best estimates) been burning merrily away for the last 4.57 billion years. SOHO was launched in 1995. SDO was launched in 2010. The Earth is around 4.54 billion years old. So at its earliest, we have been watching this ball of plasma for such a minuscule amount of time it beggars imagination.

People like to think of things in perspective and it's always a toss up in this field to use either length, height or a 24 hour clock. On a 24 hour clock humanity has existed for less than 3 minutes, the Earth for 23 hours, 54 minutes and the sun for the entire 24 hours.

We have been observing the Sun for a few milliseconds on this 24 hour clock. It's going to throw some surprises our way, it's going to do some unexpected things. Take solace in my final point, at no stage in it's 4.57 billion year history has the sun tried to render this planet sterile.

I'm waiting for the sun to develope red lines that form the happy face. Two red dots for eyes, one for the nose, and a long curved shaped one for the mouth. Then the happy face gives off a huge belch that is aimed at earth. This could be any time soon in the next 2 months. The belching sun.

That looks like AR 1520. The AR stands for active region.

It was the source of a sun flare 7/23/12.

It doesn't look like anything major to me. The sun its in a active phase so it has been giving off a lot of flares and just doing strange things.

The sun serpent Quetzalcoatl has returned!

All kidding aside, the sun is NOT predictable!

Kind of like me

We never can underestimate the power it holds!

The sun is not special. It will stay there and burn for another couple billion years like every other star it's size. Then it will die. Humans think they are so special that their mother star would go against the laws of physic and die 5 billion years in advance.

Its the GIGA SHADOW!!! ( I bet no one gets that reference)

Nah really, its a solar plasma fart. Nothing much, but sure looks neat!

Originally posted by MDDoxs
Sun is cracking like an egg and about to explode

That may sound like a joke, but it's really nothing to joke about ...

We know the sun will "crack and explode" into a red dwarf, that will engulf the earth ... it will becom a giant ball, when it cools ... all inner planets will cease to exist.

And then, you have the earth ... we've been gazing at the stars for a long time, and yet have not found any planet in the universe that is remotely like it. According to "popular" theories, the earth was smaller than venus in the beginning ... and according to other "popular" theories, the earth had venus like atmospheric pressure when the dynosaurs were alive ...

See any dynosaurs on Venu, any Fauna at all ? noticed any bakteria movement? No. That probably means this earth, is unique ... at least it is unique to our known universe.

Which means, that no other rules apply to this planet ... gaze as much as you want on venus, mars, pluto ... whatever rules you think apply there, does not apply to this rock we live on ...

Now, lets try to figure why this planet is unique ... instead of making stupid jokes about our own ignorance.

Originally posted by bjarneorn

Originally posted by MDDoxs
Sun is cracking like an egg and about to explode

That may sound like a joke, but it's really nothing to joke about ...

We know the sun will "crack and explode" into a red dwarf, that will engulf the earth ... it will becom a giant ball, when it cools ... all inner planets will cease to exist.

And then, you have the earth ... we've been gazing at the stars for a long time, and yet have not found any planet in the universe that is remotely like it. According to "popular" theories, the earth was smaller than venus in the beginning ... and according to other "popular" theories, the earth had venus like atmospheric pressure when the dynosaurs were alive ...

See any dynosaurs on Venu, any Fauna at all ? noticed any bakteria movement? No. That probably means this earth, is unique ... at least it is unique to our known universe.

Which means, that no other rules apply to this planet ... gaze as much as you want on venus, mars, pluto ... whatever rules you think apply there, does not apply to this rock we live on ...

Now, lets try to figure why this planet is unique ... instead of making stupid jokes about our own ignorance.

The earth is unique to our own universe like you are unique to the earth, does not change the fact that there are 7 billion more humans just like you that can do pretty much everything you can do. There are many planets known to have earth like characteristics. Also the Sun will not crack like an egg shell when it dies so i think it is ok to joke about it.

It's because those pesky aliens are using our sun for fuel!
Stop that silly aliens, we need our sun for a few hundred more years before we can travel to other stars.

Originally posted by PW229
We have been observing the Sun for a few milliseconds on this 24 hour clock. It's going to throw some surprises our way, it's going to do some unexpected things. Take solace in my final point, at no stage in it's 4.57 billion year history has the sun tried to render this planet sterile.

You wanna believe in 4.57 billion years ... go ahead.

I'll educate you a little about "popular" theories, you know why they are "popular" theories. It's because these theories are defined, from the basis of our notion of the universe where we can apploy our observation. Which is why "popular" theory is 99% wrong all the time. These theories, are just "one" step on the road to knowledge, they are not knowledge itself.

Applying the 24 hour clock, is just the use of "book of genesis" to apply the earth age. And the use of 4.57 billion years, is just a "comfort" to give the idea, that it's been there for eternity, no danger ahead.

Do you see any earths out there in the Universe? How many planets in our solar system, have running water? Does venus have 10000 lightning strikes per minute, when a volcano bursts there?

No. No?

So, what is so unique about this planet ... do you know? Does anyone know?

No. No?

Then your guess about this planet, and it's sun ... is just as good as my guess. And just because you have more idiots rallying behind your idea, doesn't make your idea better than mine.

What we all agree upon, is this Sun will sooner or later turn into a Red Dwarf. This we know. And it may sound comforting to you, to know it isn't going to happen in your time. But you don't know. Nor do I ... and your guess, is just as good as mine ... and the 4.57 billion years, is just as good as 5 billion, or 6 billion ... or 100 billion. Pick any number, it's just as good as any other ... carbon dating, is acceptable. Not because it's accurate, but because it's relatively useful. Focus on the "relative". But the carbon dating, does not in any way say any accurate date ... hell, the earth might only be a 100 million years old. There is no 24 hour clock in the universe.

The point of it is, we don't know "jag shet". We observe stars in the univese, and we see a correlation between them. That makes us believe that one evolves to the other. What, you think the sun evolves, but planets don't? give me a break ... what are you and I? what are the plants and life on this planet. We evolve ... so, are only you and I evolving, or do you think that the planet is evolving and we are just a part of the planets evolutionary chain. If you think only we evolve, than go back to church ... if you think God cares which poop it is that is lying on the ground, yours or mine ... than discuss theology, not science.

Obviously, WE and life itself, are just a part of this planets evolutionary chain. We see no similarity to it in the universe ... not yet. The same applies to the sun. We see yellow stars, and red dwarfs ... but we see no stages between. So the step from one to the other, might be microseconds apart ... and might be billions of years apart. But observation, does not suggest the latter. seriously.

So, now we know that the OP is right, that the earth is in danger. It's constantly in danger. It's evolving, and we have no idea what it evolved from ... and we have no idea, what it is evolving to. We have less than no clue, as to how long that evolution will take, or where we are in that evolutionary chain. The sun is the same, it is a yellow star, that will evolve into a red dwarf. We have no idea, of how long it will take, and we have less than no clue as to when it will happen, or where we are in that process.

So, out of all the crazy ideas you see out there ... don't make too much fun of them, because maybe, just maybe ... if we're lucky. One of those crazy and stupid ideas, may just turn out to save the life on this planet, and help life survive this timebomb.

So, OP ... more of this information please.

Originally posted by Advantage
Its the GIGA SHADOW!!! ( I bet no one gets that reference)

Nah really, its a solar plasma fart. Nothing much, but sure looks neat!

It could be Lady Gaga putting on a new show for us.

Originally posted by bjarneorn
There is no 24 hour clock in the universe.

There is... in the most observable part of the universe for us... The earth rotation defines a 24 hours clock

Originally posted by Ghostfreak1

There is... in the most observable part of the universe for us... The earth rotation defines a 24 hours clock

edit on 11/8/2012 by Ghostfreak1 because: Missquoted

Could you correct the source of your quote my friend, it wasn't me that said that