JAN 26, 2009 - Severe Space Weather is NASA's gift to astrology, in the sense that it pulls the rug out from under Neanderthals who think that what happens above has no real connection with what happens below. Astrologers have from time immemorial accepted that connection, have built their whole conception of humanity's place in the universe around it. Turns out, the universe that so many non-astrologers think of as far away and irrelevant can wreak havoc on human affairs. The National Academy of Sciences, in a recent report, concludes that "almost nothing is immune from space weather". A strong solar flare, followed up by an extreme geomagnetic storm, is capable of knocking out all broadcasting, all banking, all telecommunications, all transportation - the whole infrastructure of civilization could be gone for a period of weeks or months, at a cost measured in trillions of dollars in the first year alone. So the next time you think astrology is just pie in the sky, try thinking about how you're gonna bake a pie when the grid is gone because a star 93 million miles away got cranky.
