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http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-timeshttp://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times Cool article. On 27 August 1883, the Earth let out a noise louder than any it has made since. It was 10:02 AM local time when the sound emerged from the island of Krakatoa, which sits between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It was heard 1,300 miles away in the Andaman and Nicobar islands (“extraordinary sounds were heard, as of guns firing”); 2,000 miles away in New Guinea and Western Australia (“a series of loud reports, resembling those of artillery in a north-westerly direction”); and even 3,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, near Mauritius* (“coming from the eastward, like the distant roar of heavy guns.”1) In all, it was heard by people in over 50 different geographical locations, together spanning an area covering a thirteenth of the globe. ... The British ship Norham Castle was 40 miles from Krakatoa at the time of the explosion. The ship’s captain wrote in his log, “So violent are the explosions that the ear-drums of over half my crew have been shattered. My last thoughts are with my dear wife. I am convinced that the Day of Judgement has come.” In general, sounds are caused not by the end of the world but by fluctuations in air pressure. A barometer at the Batavia gasworks (100 miles away from Krakatoa) registered the ensuing spike in pressure at over 2.5 inches of mercury1,2. That converts to over 172 decibels of sound pressure, an unimaginably loud noise. To put that in context, if you were operating a jackhammer you’d be subject to about 100 decibels. The human threshold for pain is near 130 decibels, and if you had the misfortune of standing next to a jet engine, you’d experience a 150 decibel sound. (A 10 decibel increase is perceived by people as sounding roughly twice as loud.) The Krakatoa explosion registered 172 decibels at 100 miles from the source. This is so astonishingly loud, that it’s inching up against the limits of what we mean by “sound.” ... |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:06:10 PM EST
[Last Edit: 10/3/2014 5:47:33 PM EST by dog-meat]
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:09:45 PM EST
I've seen several documentaries on ole Krak. What an amazing thing it must've been to have witnessed (if you lived through it).
Every time I hear the phrase "man made global climate change" I always think about that eruption. Who's going to collect the carbon emissions fine from volcanoes? |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:15:05 PM EST
[Last Edit: 10/3/2014 4:16:36 PM EST by Shane333]
I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source.
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:15:27 PM EST
This is the most interesting thing I've learned today.
I always thought volcanoes were slower things, spewing ash and fire over a period of time, not explosions like this. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:17:46 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By dog-meat:
This is the most interesting thing I've learned today. I always thought volcanoes were slower things, spewing ash and fire over a period of time, not explosions like this. Mount Saint Helen's "burped" itself in half in moments. Can't even begin to imagine the pressure/forces required to move that much earth that quickly. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:19:50 PM EST
Originally Posted By dog-meat:
http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-timeshttp://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times Cool article. On 27 August 1883, the Earth let out a noise louder than any it has made since. It was 10:02 AM local time when the sound emerged from the island of Krakatoa, which sits between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It was heard 1,300 miles away in the Andaman and Nicobar islands (“extraordinary sounds were heard, as of guns firing”); 2,000 miles away in New Guinea and Western Australia (“a series of loud reports, resembling those of artillery in a north-westerly direction”); and even 3,000 miles away in the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, near Mauritius* (“coming from the eastward, like the distant roar of heavy guns.”1) In all, it was heard by people in over 50 different geographical locations, together spanning an area covering a thirteenth of the globe. ... The British ship Norham Castle was 40 miles from Krakatoa at the time of the explosion. The ship’s captain wrote in his log, “So violent are the explosions that the ear-drums of over half my crew have been shattered. My last thoughts are with my dear wife. I am convinced that the Day of Judgement has come.” In general, sounds are caused not by the end of the world but by fluctuations in air pressure. A barometer at the Batavia gasworks (100 miles away from Krakatoa) registered the ensuing spike in pressure at over 2.5 inches of mercury1,2. That converts to over 172 decibels of sound pressure, an unimaginably loud noise. To put that in context, if you were operating a jackhammer you’d be subject to about 100 decibels. The human threshold for pain is near 130 decibels, and if you had the misfortune of standing next to a jet engine, you’d experience a 150 decibel sound. (A 10 decibel increase is perceived by people as sounding roughly twice as loud.) The Krakatoa explosion registered 172 decibels at 100 miles from the source. This is so astonishingly loud, that it’s inching up against the limits of what we mean by “sound.” ... NASA scientists calculate the Sun, at it's surface, is putting out 290 decibels. There is even a theory that these sound waves emanating from the plasma surface cause sonic vibrations and are the reason the corona is so much hotter than the interior. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:20:51 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Shane333:
I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source. For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:22:37 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By cgrant26:
NASA scientists calculate the Sun, at it's surface, is putting out 290 decibels. There is even a theory that these sound waves emanating from the plasma surface cause sonic vibrations and are the reason the corona is so much hotter than the interior. WOW!!! That's just crazy. I would imagine that if we could create a 290db "sound" source, we could use it to pulverize rock or something. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:23:18 PM EST
Located East of Java, if memory serves....
Seriously though, that is a neat "recent" event that people should know more about. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:25:29 PM EST
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away.
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USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:26:49 PM EST
172 dB from a distance of 100 miles away!
I believe the "Tunguska event" was probably the only thing (in the last couple centuries) to rival it. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:29:07 PM EST
Read the book by Simon Winchester called Krakatoa.
Pretty good read. Not only was it heard over in South America, but the effect on the tides was seen globally as they were already monitoring tides and such back then all over Europe. The ash made the sky a weird color and people in NY state were fearing forest fires off in the distance. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:35:38 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Red_Label:
For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Red_Label:
Originally Posted By Shane333:
I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source. For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Dang nature, you scary! |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:43:23 PM EST
[Last Edit: 10/3/2014 4:53:05 PM EST by Red_Label]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Shane333:
Dang nature, you scary! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Shane333:
Originally Posted By Red_Label:
Originally Posted By Shane333:
I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source. For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Dang nature, you scary! Cosmic phenomena like supernovae, black holes, quasars, pulsars, etc are where nature REALLY gets scary. Wanna strip every cell of life off of a planet or even from entire solar systems in a single instant? There ya go. The gamma ray bursts that some of these things create seem to be akin to the cosmos going the nuclear option in terms of "shock waves". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova 
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TX, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 4:45:06 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Keekleberrys:
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. They measured the sound at 172db 100 miles from the source. Subtract 6db every time you double the distance, and you are still over 140db. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:01:12 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Lorax:
Read the book by Simon Winchester called Krakatoa. Pretty good read. Not only was it heard over in South America, but the effect on the tides was seen globally as they were already monitoring tides and such back then all over Europe. The ash made the sky a weird color and people in NY state were fearing forest fires off in the distance. Came to post this. Thanks. Don't fuck with Mother Nature |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:16:32 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Keekleberrys:
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. Considering that they actually recorded the pressure wave from the event all over the world for 5 days, I'd say it ain't BS. Think of it as a 200+ Megaton nuke going off, throwing 6+ cubic miles of earth & rock into the air... That's a bit of force. That kind of energy bing released is louder than anything else ever heard. |
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NV, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:21:30 PM EST
Damn, that's almost as loud as my battle comp...
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:22:19 PM EST
I think the earth cooled a statistically significant amount in the year or two afterwards. The volume of ash in the atmosphere was enough to prevent a significant amount of heating from the sun.
The book by Simon Winchester was pretty good. I learned a lot.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:28:51 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Red_Label:
Cosmic phenomena like supernovae, black holes, quasars, pulsars, etc are where nature REALLY gets scary. Wanna strip every cell of life off of a planet or even from entire solar systems in a single instant? There ya go. The gamma ray bursts that some of these things create seem to be akin to the cosmos going the nuclear option in terms of "shock waves". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova http://www.hawaiistar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ukirt-gemini-quasar.jpg Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Red_Label:
Originally Posted By Shane333:
Originally Posted By Red_Label:
Originally Posted By Shane333:
I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source. For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Dang nature, you scary! Cosmic phenomena like supernovae, black holes, quasars, pulsars, etc are where nature REALLY gets scary. Wanna strip every cell of life off of a planet or even from entire solar systems in a single instant? There ya go. The gamma ray bursts that some of these things create seem to be akin to the cosmos going the nuclear option in terms of "shock waves". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova http://www.hawaiistar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ukirt-gemini-quasar.jpg This is a quote from the excellent XKCD. "Which of the following would be brighter, in terms of the amount of energy delivered to your retina: 1. A supernova, seen from as far away as the Sun is from the Earth, or 2. The detonation of a hydrogen bomb pressed against your eyeball? 
The supernova is; by NINE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE!!" |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:33:52 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By castlebravo84:
This is a quote from the excellent XKCD. "Which of the following would be brighter, in terms of the amount of energy delivered to your retina: 1. A supernova, seen from as far away as the Sun is from the Earth, or 2. The detonation of a hydrogen bomb pressed against your eyeball? https://what-if.xkcd.com/imgs/a/73/neutrinos_bomb.png The supernova is; by NINE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE!!" Whoah!!! That's pretty crazy. The "beauty" of cosmic phenomena on those scales is that if we're ever affecteted... the odds are that it'll be over so quickly we won't have time to suffer. Like a mosquito on a locomotive's headlight. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:35:11 PM EST
Krakatoa exploded out the side with what the geologists call a fissure eruption. Or a Nue ardente (sp?) in another language. Funny I still remember this as it was a question on a Geology 101 exam. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:37:50 PM EST
wow no sex jokes yet?
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:39:05 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By BillythePoet:
Located East of Java, if memory serves....
Seriously though, that is a neat "recent" event that people should know more about. Actually it is *west* of Java, but for some reason that doesn't sound as interesting. 
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DEU
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:40:09 PM EST
Wasn't there a supernova back in the 1800s (well, technically, way earlier, but the light took a while to get here) that lit the sky up?
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:40:20 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Proto3:
wow no sex jokes yet? Krakatoa blew his load all over Gaia's face. Better? |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:41:36 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Keekleberrys:
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. 
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:44:03 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By HKH:
http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/013/034/yeahsciencebitch.PNG Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HKH:
Originally Posted By Keekleberrys:
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/013/034/yeahsciencebitch.PNG 
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:44:31 PM EST
I just caught a part of the report, but didn't 50 people get killed by the Japan volcano that just blew. Rocks and shit landed on them and killed them?
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:46:51 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By a555:
Wasn't there a supernova back in the 1800s (well, technically, way earlier, but the light took a while to get here) that lit the sky up? This one was the brightest (in 1006 AD). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1006 |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:48:04 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By dog-meat:
check out the shockwave moving through the clouds:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMsWhere and when was that ? |
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ID, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:48:55 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Keekleberrys: I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. Given the documented levels, I don't.
Sound (i.e., pressure waves) do some strange shit, and could travel very long distances in at least some directions.
I've heard PA systems that weren't that loud from miles away when atmospheric conditions are right. Heard clearly enough to easily understand every word.
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:49:34 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By GrandfatherCoyote:
Krakatoa blew his load all over Gaia's face. Better? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GrandfatherCoyote:
Originally Posted By Proto3:
wow no sex jokes yet? Krakatoa blew his load all over Gaia's face. Better? much better |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:51:04 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Shung:
Where and when was that ? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Shung:
Originally Posted By dog-meat:
check out the shockwave moving through the clouds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMsWhere and when was that ? Papua New Guinea |
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USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:52:38 PM EST
I remember reading somewhere that the shockwave from that eruption circled the Earth three times.
I have little doubt that it could be heard 3000 miles away. 172db at 100 mi. is incomprehensibly loud. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:53:28 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By GrandfatherCoyote:
Considering that they actually recorded the pressure wave from the event all over the world for 5 days, I'd say it ain't BS. Think of it as a 200+ Megaton nuke going off, throwing 6+ cubic miles of earth & rock into the air... That's a bit of force. That kind of energy bing released is louder than anything else ever heard. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GrandfatherCoyote:
Originally Posted By Keekleberrys:
I call bs on it being heard 3000 miles away. Considering that they actually recorded the pressure wave from the event all over the world for 5 days, I'd say it ain't BS. Think of it as a 200+ Megaton nuke going off, throwing 6+ cubic miles of earth & rock into the air... That's a bit of force. That kind of energy bing released is louder than anything else ever heard. get your witchcraft out of here! |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 5:57:01 PM EST
So basically it's like being inside a humvee when it gets hit by an IED...
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ID, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 6:01:33 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Red_Label: Cosmic phenomena like supernovae, black holes, quasars, pulsars, etc are where nature REALLY gets scary. Wanna strip every cell of life off of a planet or even from entire solar systems in a single instant? There ya go. The gamma ray bursts that some of these things create seem to be akin to the cosmos going the nuclear option in terms of "shock waves". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova http://www.hawaiistar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ukirt-gemini-quasar.jpg Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Red_Label: Originally Posted By Shane333: Originally Posted By Red_Label: Originally Posted By Shane333: I really can't imagine. The shock wave must have been so powerful that it would probably have killed a person even a few miles away from the source. For sure. Here's another event that's always fascinated me... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event Dang nature, you scary! Cosmic phenomena like supernovae, black holes, quasars, pulsars, etc are where nature REALLY gets scary. Wanna strip every cell of life off of a planet or even from entire solar systems in a single instant? There ya go. The gamma ray bursts that some of these things create seem to be akin to the cosmos going the nuclear option in terms of "shock waves". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova http://www.hawaiistar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ukirt-gemini-quasar.jpg Everything counts in large amounts.
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Posted: 10/3/2014 6:02:56 PM EST
And just think that Krakatoa can't hold a candle to Lake Toba in Sumatra. When it erupted 75,000 years ago it produced over 675 cubic miles of ejecta material, over 60 times Krakatoa's volume.
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MN, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 6:19:04 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By Layer60:
I remember reading somewhere that the shockwave from that eruption circled the Earth three times. I have little doubt that it could be heard 3000 miles away. 172db at 100 mi. is incomprehensibly loud. The Earth was ringing like a bell due to the eruption |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 6:24:47 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By krpind:
I just caught a part of the report, but didn't 50 people get killed by the Japan volcano that just blew. Rocks and shit landed on them and killed them? They were probably killed by the gasses coming out of the crater/ fissure. Either by the temperature, asphyxiation or poisoning. Or some other damn thing, it was a decidedly unhealthy place to be at the moment. 
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:00:09 PM EST
kraktoa moved around 6 sq mi of earth.
Mt. Toba removed 670 cu miles of earth! Mt. Toba And they get even bigger.... |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:05:37 PM EST
When Yellowstone goes, it will be heard on the moon
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:20:23 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By CarbineDad:
When Yellowstone goes, it will be heard on the moon Maybe some of the ejecta will hit the moon!
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:22:41 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By rabidus:
Maybe some of the ejecta will hit the moon!
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rabidus:
Originally Posted By CarbineDad:
When Yellowstone goes, it will be heard on the moon Maybe some of the ejecta will hit the moon!
I've seen that in movies. 
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AR, USA
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:23:27 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By rabidus:
Maybe some of the ejecta will hit the moon!
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rabidus:
Originally Posted By CarbineDad:
When Yellowstone goes, it will be heard on the moon Maybe some of the ejecta will hit the moon!
It could. 
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Posted: 10/3/2014 7:29:37 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By dog-meat:
This is the most interesting thing I've learned today. I always thought volcanoes were slower things, spewing ash and fire over a period of time, not explosions like this. |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 8:40:17 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By dog-meat:
check out the shockwave moving through the clouds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMsThat was sweet |
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Posted: 10/3/2014 8:50:18 PM EST
Quote History Originally Posted By rabidus:
kraktoa moved around 6 sq mi of earth. Mt. Toba removed 670 cu miles of earth! Mt. Toba And they get even bigger.... I've never heard of this one before. |
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Posted: 10/4/2014 2:01:04 AM EST
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