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NASA Data Suggests Solar Magnetic Field About To Flip

Posted by timothy on from the we're-all-gonna-die dept.

Freddybear writes "According to measurements from NASA solar observatories, the sun's magnetic field is about to reverse polarity. The event is predicted to occur within the next three to four months and will have effects throughout the solar system. These magnetic reversals happen regularly about every eleven years as part of the solar cycle."

27 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. You know what this means. by azav · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'll be in my bunk-er.

    --
    - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
    1. Re:You know what this means. by s.petry · · Score: 2

      From TFA, this happens every 11 years. So if you are under the age of 11, you can be scared. If you are over the age of 11, this should be a "been there done that" moment.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  2. Oh no by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 4, Funny

    What does this mean for the recipes on my fridge? Should I switch to suction cups?

    --
    Mostly random stuff.
    1. Re:Oh no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just turn your fridge upside down

    2. Re:Oh no by dsvick · · Score: 2

      No, no, you just have to hang them on the back of the fridge. They'll be a bit hard to get to there but, just think, 11 years from now when you switch them back, you'll have all sorts of rediscovered recipes to try.

    3. Re:Oh no by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm pretty sure you flip them upside-down, convert to metric, and replace any beer in the fridge with fosters.

  3. Sun has PMS by MLBs · · Score: 3, Funny

    And as usual, innocent men have to suffer.

  4. Doom and gloom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Waiting for news reports to be published that leave out the part that this is normal and part of the aprox eleven year solar cycle.

  5. Yawn by djupedal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've survived 5 of these so far - one more can't hurt...

    1. Re:Yawn by slashmydots · · Score: 4, Funny

      It never hurts to have sun polar flipping insurance though

  6. TLDR? 4 minute video. by DaTrueDave · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a 4 minute video on the topic:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34gNgaME86Y

    I find it interesting that this cycle is a bit longer than normal this time.

  7. Countdown for the SyFy disaster flick by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 2

    Starting now...[assuming it hasn't been done yet]

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    1. Re:Countdown for the SyFy disaster flick by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      Looking at their original movies, it appears that SyFy is the disaster.

      "Ghost Shark: it's a shark that's a ghost. Need anything else?" SyFy, hinting that you're aware you're making disgracefully shitty entertainment doesn't mean it's not disgracefully shitty. In fact, it just makes it worse.

  8. Misread that... by wbr1 · · Score: 4, Funny
    For a second I thought the title read, "NSA Data Suggests Solar Magnetic Field About To Flip"

    And thought, man they really are spying on everything.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Misread that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well they can't have the sun changing sides too. Imagine what would happen if the sun turned against us. We'd get all Snowd 'en.

  9. The last time... by guytoronto · · Score: 2

    The last time the magnetic field flipped (Feb 2001), Brendan Fraser starred in Monkeybone. What colossal box office flop awaits us this time around?

    1. Re:The last time... by cyberchondriac · · Score: 2

      The last time the magnetic field flipped (Feb 2001), Brendan Fraser starred in Monkeybone. What colossal box office flop awaits us this time around?

      Monkeybone II starring Shia LaBeouf, obviously..

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
  10. Social Media by Scutter · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder what role social media is having on the timeline for this event?

    --

    "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
  11. Surprising frequency by pr0t0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Given the predicted 8 billion year lifespan of the sun, 11 years is a blip. If you equated it to a human 80-year lifespan, the magnetic reversal would happen every 3.47 seconds. It's almost like a heartbeat at that rate.

    --
    I'm sorry, but your opinion seems to be wrong.
  12. About Time! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Funny

    It has been a pretty rotten 11 years.

  13. Re:Monopole? by Rhacman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm not sure, though it doesn't seem strange to me. A magnet doesn't have to have its poles 180 degrees away from each other (think a horseshoe magnet).

    --
    Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
  14. Feb. 2001 called, it wants its Armageddon back by davidwr · · Score: 2

    For those of you too young to remember, it happened before and it will happen again.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  15. Re:queue apocolypse theories in 3... 2... 1... by davidwr · · Score: 2

    If this is happening in 3-4 months, how many of those days will we get "documentaries" on how this might spell our doom?

    Dang, if only this happened last December, at the end/beginning of the Mayan Calendar cycle. The media would've had an even bigger field day.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  16. Not Sharkspotnado! by davidwr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Coronal Shark Ejection!

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  17. About to Reverse Polarity by Idetuxs · · Score: 2

    Oh my God!

  18. Re:Thanks for including the "but it's normal" note by necro81 · · Score: 2

    "Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now"

    Replace "bowl of petunias" with "the sun", and you get become a PhD student.

  19. Voyager experiments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Could this be an opportunity for Voayager to finally measure the Sun's magnetosphere / edge of the solar system in more detail. The sun is not a perfect sphere I'm guessing, so the change should be recordable onboard Voyager if NASA gets lucky.