Are CMEs a threat to life on Earth?

[DONTEATUS]

A question his recent CME`s on th efar side of the Sun,What will happen really If a major,and I mean Major CME let go towards earth in the next year or so ? Like Ten times larger than this one that just happened.

Is it actually possible to wipe out our life on earth?

[Waspie_Dwarf]

A question his recent CME`s on th efar side of the Sun,What will happen really If a major,and I mean Major CME let go towards earth in the next year or so ? Like Ten times larger than this one that just happened.

Is it actually possible to wipe out our life on earth?

No, CME's have been happening for billions of years. We are protected by our atmosphere and magnetic field.

[NatureBoff]

No, CME's have been happening for billions of years. We are protected by our atmosphere and magnetic field.

That's not entirely true. Large CME's can penetrate the Earth's magnetic shield and produce aurora around the equatorial regions.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

That's not entirely true. Large CME's can penetrate the Earth's magnetic shield and produce aurora around the equatorial regions.

What part of it is untrue exactly? DONTEATUS asked if it could wipe out life on Earth, I replied we were protected. Show me an aurora that can wipe out life on Earth and you might have a point.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Impacts of Strong Solar Flares

Given a legitimate need to protect Earth from the most intense forms of space weather -- great bursts of electromagnetic energy and particles that can sometimes stream from the sun -- some people worry that a gigantic "killer solar flare" could hurl enough energy to destroy Earth, but this is not actually possible.

Solar activity is indeed currently ramping up toward what is known as solar maximum, something that occurs approximately every 11 years. However, this same solar cycle has occurred over millennia so anyone over the age of 11 has already lived through such a solar maximum with no harm.

Read more...

[DingoLingo]

the only real thing a huge CME could do is really screw up our electronics.. if we get hit by a double whammy .. ie.. one right after the other it would cause a rather large overload.. theories also put it like a world wide EMP..

[ChrLzs]

Putting on my tinfoil hat and to add a little bit of mystery and excitement.. IF a huge solar outburst blew away some/all of our van Allen Belts, OR if we just lose our magnetic field or it dwindles drastically (perhaps before a periodic reversal), then.. cosmic and solar radiation might be significantly increased - there would be sunburn! We might even do a Mars and lose some of our atmosphere..

Interestingly, increased radiation might have good and bad effects - some believe that in times of higher radiation bombardment, evolution - driven by all the mutated (aka radiation-damaged) dna - would increase in speed.

Who knows, we might develop into a whole new, better (or worse) species..

Removing tinfoil hat - ok, all that would take a MIGHTY big outburst of a kind not hitherto seen, but that is hinted at by some archeological evidence.. the jury is still out on much of this - we really aren't sure what might happen, even if the Sun did have an enormous uncharacteristic burp....

BTW, it would also have to be pointed right at us, otherwise it won't do much except look purty..