Concerning the survival of the human race? :)

Here's what I'd like to know:

-Could a large solar flare destroy all life on Earth?
-Would we be able to predict/ realize that the solar flare was coming before it hit us?
-What percentage of chance would the human race have of surviving?

I kind of need this info quite soon, i need for an English project...that's due for tomorrow...because I left it quite late... :/

thanks :)

Well, solar flares technically don't even reach Mercury. People seem to think that solar flares are huge explosions that extend far into space. Their ENERGY can go that far but not the flare itself.

You may be talking about a coronal mass ejection :) We would indeed be able to predict it through our space telescopes; we would see the energy being spewed from the Sun's corona. Would we survive? Maybe. According to the documentary "The Universe," it could wipe out a third of the world's population. I'd say the human race itself would have a 25% chance of surviving.

Hope that helps!! :)

The earth's magnetic field is
continually generated by the
liquid metallic core of the Earth
rotating, so no, it can't be
destroyed by a solar flare.
Strong solar flares do distort the
magnetic field. I suppose
theoretically a very strong solar
flare could deflect the field
sufficiently to allow dangerous
radiation to reach the ground,
maybe for long enough to do
serious harm, perhaps even blow
our atmosphere into space, but
after it has passed, the magnetic
field would spring back into
place.
Such a powerful flare would
almost certainly never happen
whilst the sun is still in its stable
main sequence, which it will
continue to be for another 5
billion years or do.