The world won’t end in 2012, at least according to NASA. The US space agency has denied reports that the sun could belch out a huge fireball that would engulf the Earth and destroy life as we know it.
Solar activity is currently going through a particularly active period as part of the star’s 11-year cycle. But NASA says this is standard and that there’s no danger of a giant fireball. For one thing, the sun apparently doesn’t have the energy required to propel the fireball 93m miles towards us. For another, this ‘solar high’ won’t come in 2012 but, more likely, in 2013 or even 2014.
Despite the lack of a fireball, increased solar activity could pose a problem for some of Earth’s communication devices. Mobile phones, GPS and even wireless internet could potentially be affected. The last time such a ‘solar high’ occurred, such technology wasn’t nearly so widespread. So the sun could still pull a surprise on us when its cycle peaks in the next few years.
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