Transcription
Good evening, folks. As promised, we are back with the inside story on what several major astronomy and planetary science experts are concerned about in just a few weeks' time. As always, I love having access to these people, so nobody is getting outed, doxed, or thrown under the bus for the public to not at, but Comet PANSTARRS has presented a unique and potentially scary situation, one that came to light too late to do anything about. We just have to hope the off chance doesn't hit this time.
What they are worried about is this, the comet passing between the Earth and Sun and the tail material coming with the solar wind. This is relevant because the path this comet is taking from the north, cutting down through to the south, brings it nearly right between Earth and Sun. Few days ahead, actually, but since the solar wind takes several days to reach the Earth, we may be directly in the tail spray zone. It is forecast to cut through the solar system equator and orbital plane of the planets on April 24th, which means the various components in the solar wind would be arriving here at Earth in a window from April 26th to April 29th.
Now, I had already expressed a bit of concern from an atmospheric chemistry perspective. Several things about comets are pretty scary if there's a lot of it, but luckily, most of my concerns appear low risk right now. C2 fluorescence and the indicated low cyanogens and low dust component take out my top concerns. Basically, just the water and plasma I was concerned with. But, after I made the original video, several of my contacts began contacting. They say I am missing the biggest concern of all with Comet PANSTARRS. I've made a big mistake, and while I'm not sure I agree, I will share their concerns.
One comes from a professor at MIT, and the other gentleman works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The hypothesis stems from a theory that loosely came together only in the last few years. While most scientists completely ignore how much Earth's magnetic field is weakening as the magnetic poles are moving, others are trying to fit that square peg into the round hole of space debris and dust from satellites, rockets, and other things burning up on reentry, which they say could use up the magnetic protection, so to speak, capture it, and decrease the magnetic field of Earth. Essentially, they're trying to say that the modern-day pole shift is our own fault, which is a bit silly. But, the underlying hypothesis, not as a standalone explanation for the modern magnetic changes, but as sprinkles on top of the natural cycle that are making it a bit worse, now that's nuanced intelligent science.
This paper from January hypothesized that microparticles were killing Earth's magnetic field and also destroying ozone enough to create a North Atlantic Anomaly like the one in the south. Yeah, there's one up north, too. Sadly for them, there's really no way to concentrate the particles into that one spot. It would have to be a global thing, and the actual cause for the concentrated North Atlantic Anomaly is the ongoing weakening of Earth's magnetic field, the shifting of the poles away from the Atlantic Ocean. But, it is not a totally imaginary effect, and we're about to get a whole beast load of that microparticulate matter and plasma added to our system. Just this time, it's not coming from satellites or rockets. Hopefully, it's not going to be too much.
Comet tails are sparse and diffuse, and they diffuse further as they extend, but the particles and molecules do not disappear. There are always tendrils in comet trails of extremely dense material. We just have to hope one of those doesn't hit us. There's no time to do anything about it. To be clear, what they fear is a small but real risk that Earth will enter a tail tendril. It will temporarily dampen Earth's magnetic field, we will have a major ozone loss event, and in the weeks to months it takes for the field to recover, our electrified way of life, from continental power grids to batteries, will have no protection from a solar kill shot EMP.
Got to admit, I didn't necessarily think too much until they shared the data on tendrils and comet tails. It's basically like a whip in space. They aren't that hard to spot if you look. Also, there is both a gas and dust tail component, so that makes two different parts of the event. Those two are often visible as the comet is turning around the Sun, and let's just say I really hope they are wrong. I hope we don't hit a tendril of a comet tail. The risk is low, it's just that the risk exists. At least there's not much cyanide or dust, those were my big concerns, but apparently, there are some big names who think I wasn't looking in the right direction. Two to three weeks away, and we find out, folks. I'll see you in the morning for the daily show. Be safe, everyone.