Solar winds of change

What does that mean? VERYBODY

Ehas problems. That’s a fact. Some problems are tougher than others, others are easy.

Some are worse to have and some problems are not so bad. But identifying that you have a problem is only the very first step in taking care of it.

All you have at this point is something about which you can complain. Loudly and frequently. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what far too many people do.

They identify what’s wrong and then complain about it, expecting someone else to take care of it for them. That’s where the second half of the quote comes in.

Don’t put your effort into complaining, put it into finding and then implementing a solution.

Why is dealing with our problems important?

When you’re hungry, getting enough food is a problem. When you’re a caterer, getting enough food for a large party can be quite a problem.

The hungry person has their problem.

The solution will depend on where they are and what services are available to them.

A caterer with a food shortage also has identified their problem.

But they won’t get paid if they show up at the gig with insufficient food and an excuse that it’s somebody else’s problem.

They have to come up with alternatives, extra people, new suppliers or even partner with another caterer.

In each case you can see what happens when there is just complaining.

And, while rarely easy, putting your energy into finding a solution is a much better thing to do with yourself, your energy and your time. But what of your power? To me, this is our ability to influence or change things around us.

We each have some ability to change the world and the people around us. We can be the voice to help start the change, a small thing or a big thing.

O NRARELY

identified

Christmas Day last year, part of the solar wind hitting Mars disappeared. This caused the atmosphere on Mars’ sun-facing side to swell by nearly four times its usual size, from 800km to 3 000km. It took two days to settle down.

It was captured this time by NASA’s MAVEN probe, which is a satellite in orbit around Mars monitoring the weather and climate there.

Recently we covered a solar event where an ejection from the sun swept up smaller previous ejections.

It seems a similar mechanism was at play here.

A faster-moving region of the solar wind overtook the material from a previous, slower wind and left a sparse region behind.

In this gap, the atmosphere on Mars was able to expand.

A similar event hit Earth in 1999. That

We can be the action added to a larger cause.

We can make a difference in the problems around us, ours and others.

Where can I apply this in my life?

Tell me about your problems. Well, you’re talking to a screen, not me, so a more accurate way to say that is to talk to yourself about your problems. What troubles you?

What isn’t going your way? How is life being unfair to you? Take a moment and some paper and make a list of everything on your mind.

Now consider your list. How many do you just talk about?

How many have you identified and not done anything to solve?

Compare that to the number of problems which you identified and then put some effort into finding a solution, and even trying to implement that solution.

SOLVE

Your problems, do you mostly talk about them or do you work to solve them?

There are no right or wrong answers, but until you have looked at your situation, how do you know what you need to do to improve your situation?

Now that you have a better idea, what do you think it will take to get you to do more solving and less complaining?

I’ve never been that big on complaining, but that doesn’t mean everything I do is about solving problems.

I also rationalise quite a bit, saying to myself that it isn’t really all ‘that’ bad, at least not yet.

When it gets worse, then I’ll ok on saw our planet’s atmosphere five times its normal size.

MAVEN has been watching Mars’s atmosphere for ten years and it has never seen the atmosphere behave like this before.

It was a case of being in the right place at the right time.

MONITORING

expand

Astronomers say they expected to see more events like this, given the growing number of satellites around various planets that are monitoring weather, but also because the sun is reaching peak activity. His peak, called solar max, occurs every 11 years and it is a time of heightened activity from our sun. Solar max is expected to be reached in July 2024.

Meanwhile, the practically ancient craft known as Voyager 1 is experiencing signs of old age.

It is unable to transmit any scientific or systems data at the moment. It’s just sending us gibberish.

At 46 years old, this sort of thing is to be expected.

Voyager 1 is currently 24 billion kilometres away from us.

For reference, Pluto is 6 billion kilometres away. Voyager 1 is so far away a solution. And sometimes that’s the right solution, and other times, it’s an excuse.

We each must determine that

A big part of the problem with not doing anything about a problem is that it can lead to what I call learned helplessness.

The problem is too big, what can a little person like me do? I don’t know where to start.

Who can I talk to so that I can find out more about this problem? Each question can be answered, with a little effort.

HELPLESS

ourselves.

But if you feel helpless, the question becomes your excuse.

If you put a bit of power and energy into answering the question, you will likely find yourself with a potential solution (or perhaps several).

That is the first step. Then you need to determine which solution works best for you, and then take action. And taking action is the key to solving your problems.

It starts with identifying the problem, then asking the right questions. Developing the best potential solution for your problem from your list of answers is next.

Finally, you have to do something about it and work your solution.

It sounds easy and it is quite simple. But it takes time, effort, power and energy. But few problems resolve themselves.

What will you do to resolve some of your problems today?

that a one-way signal from the craft take 45 hours to reach us.

The probe was launched in 1977. It has been a good soldier ever since.

It did a fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn and Saturn’s moon Titan, and was the first craft to get near to these planets.

In August 2012 it crossed the heliopause. This was a momentous occasion for a few reasons.

First, it was the first time we got an observation of where the heliopause was.

The heliopause is basically the area of space where the sun’s atmosphere stops.

The sun’s magnetic field drops off, as does the solar wind.

Voyager 1 gave us an actual measurement of where this happens and that measurement is 18 billion kilometres from the sun.

Second, when Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, it escaped from our sun’s influence and entered interstellar space. It left our solar system. It was the moment that mankind became an interstellar species.

The team behind Voyager 1 is working on a solution, but say it could be weeks. They are dealing with technology and software capacities from half a century ago. I hope they find a solution.

Finally, we will see the solstice this week, on Friday 22 December, at exactly 5.27am.

I N2019 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 12 fireworks-related deaths and 10 000 injuries treated in hospital emergency departments, of which 36 per cent were children.

Fireworks caused a reported 18 500 fires. Every year people die and are injured and houses burn down just from fireworks.

But that is not the only damage they cause. Dog and cat ears are more sensitive to higher amplitudes of sound.

Humans can hear sound frequencies up to 20 000 Hertz (Hz), dogs to about 45 000 Hz and cats to 64 000 Hz.

Cats can hear sounds at about 1.6 octaves above the range of a human and 1 octave above dogs. You are most sensitive to sounds of around 3 000 Hz (most human voices are near that pitch), while your cat is most sensitive to sounds of around 8 000 Hz.

SOUNDS

This means cats and dogs hear sounds that we can’t hear. What you hear is not what they hear.

Dogs hear about four times the distance of a human with normal hearing. Cats' ears are uniquely designed to draw sound into the ear canal, which enables them to hear sounds, like a mouse rustling in the brush, from 30 feet away.

Their reaction to loud music and excessive noise is an instinctive act of self-protection. Imagine wearing a hearing aid on full volume in front of a heavy metal band.

It is cruel to expose animals to loud noises such as fireworks.

The noise they hear is so terrifying that they may go temporarily crazy.

They are often so badly affected that they run to escape the torture and become hopelessly lost.

More dogs and cats go missing during fireworks displays than at any other time.

Fireworks are not suitable for residential areas for fire risk, personal injury and for the sake of pets.

In any event, massed fireworks are much more effective, so take your fireworks to the park and make a big display with everyone else. Leave pets safe at home in a quiet residential area.

FIREWORKS

They do not want to watch fireworks. All that they are aware of is a terrifying, insanely high-pitched noise which their brains are not able to cope with.

Here are a few pointers to make the fireworks season, if not a happy time for your pet, then at least less terrifying:

Secure all fences, gates and doors. Keep your dog on a leash if you have to take it out of the yard.

If the dog or cat is a very bad case, ask your vet for calming medication and follow the prescription precisely.

Don't get cross with your dog or cat for being scared, it will only make him more frightened.

Ignore the noises yourself and don’t try to soothe your frightened dog. He may get the impression that there is something to fear and it may even reward him for being scared.

He may also think you are the only person who can soothe the fears and then he may panic if you are not around the next time he hears fireworks.

When he relaxes, pet him and give him a treat such as a small dog biscuit.

If your pet is so frightened that he cannot relax, put him in a quiet, familiar room, curtains and door closed, with his own bed or at least his blanket to burrow in. If he is to be in the room for more than an hour, give him water and make sure he has a toilet break immediately before and immediately after.

Don’t forget, he is terrified and may make a mess. It’s not his fault.

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