Dear Glen Watson:

On Aug 12, 1:41*pm, "Glen Watson" wrote:
"dlzc" wrote in message
...
On Aug 12, 12:43 pm, "Glen Watson" wrote:
....
The end of the 2009 movie "Knowing" shows Earth
destroyed by a solar flare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQEh5_pSbd4

Is this even remotely possible?

Ending life as we know it, yes. *Very remotely.
*Breaking the planet up, no, very unlikely.

I was under the impression that solar flares might
be able to knock out satellites, but that's about it.

Depends on the mass involved, and its proximity
to Earth and for how long.

One of the characters in the movie wants to go deep
into a cave to attempt to survive the flare but is told
that the radiation could kill up to one mile deep.

It is always a good idea to climb into one's grave prior to the end,
but 6 feet is usually enough.

If we had advance notice of a killer solar storm,
could we create some kind of shelter that could
keep enough people and other life forms alive

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/ear...lds-seeds.html

until it was safe to repopulate the planet?

If it was "energetic radiation" that 1 mile of depth was required for
adequate protection, then no, the planet is dead. Everything is
sterilized and we depend on even microorganisms to survive. The ozone
produced would have decayed in a month or so so that it was safe to
breathe...

If it was just thermally so hot that it required 1 mile of depth as
enough insulation for adequate protection, then no, you are sealed
into a rock prison with hundreds of feet of molten lava sealing you
in. And if you did break out, there would be little atmosphere left
to greet you.

But it is fiction, and I am not sure what Mr. Cage's infatuation with
prescience is, but it is not serving him well. But I guess you can
only make "National Treasure" once... and he still has to eat...

David A. Smith