When Beauty Meets Potential Catastrophe

Aurora borealis Solar storm Geomagnetic storm Northern lights Space weather Radiation Ignorance is bliss Solar flares Coronal mass ejection Magnetosphere

Astronomy Physics Science Earth-science

8 months ago 23,653 views 0 shares

When Beauty Meets Potential Catastrophe

aurora-borealis-memes, solar-storm-memes, geomagnetic-storm-memes, northern-lights-memes, space-weather-memes | ScienceHumor.io

The meme juxtaposes two reactions to the aurora borealis: the blissfully ignorant viewer who just sees pretty lights in the sky versus the scientifically informed person who understands they're witnessing a terrifying solar radiation storm that could potentially fry our electronics and infrastructure.

Those gorgeous green and purple curtains? That's high-energy particles from solar flares slamming into our atmosphere at millions of miles per hour. The more spectacular the aurora, the more intense the geomagnetic storm—and the higher risk to satellites, power grids, and communications systems. The informed face knows we're basically watching Earth get bombarded with radiation while everyone else is just taking Instagram photos.

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