Geeking out on geomagnetism

High-energy pulses of solar wind distort the Earth's magnetic field.


For some reason I felt like geeking out tonight. Reading about variations in the Earth's magnetic field, among other things. Scientists know that the Earth's magnetic field changes over time, and that complete reversals of the poles have happened many times in the past, the last time being about 700 thousand years ago. The overall field of the Earth has decreased 7% over over the last 100 years, which some scientists think might be a sign of a pending reversal. The thing they can't decide is whether the change happens quickly (over a few years) or slowly (over a few thousand years). When the fields reverse, they first collapse, leaving the Earth and it's inhabitants exposed to flares of solar radiation. The coming collapse (if it happens) will be the first to occur with a global technology-based population (that we know of). All of our satellites and other technology would basically be wiped out without protection from solar radiation. Should make for interesting times.... indeed.