Depends on what you consider catastrophic, and on how far away from you it occurs.
If it's a supernova (SN) event in our galaxy, then, probably yes, because chances are extremely high that it would be many thousands of lt-yrs away. And the last known SN in our galaxy happened in 1604, before the invention of the telescope (1609).
If it's something that happens on the Sun, well, CMEs (coronal mass ejections) happen all the time -- many times per year in the active part of the Sun's 11-year cycle. (BTW, the Sun can't become a SN; it has too little mass.)
If it's an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) you're thinking of, then I think the jury is still out on that one. Lots of devices we rely on would be inoperable for an extended time.
Can you be more specific?
If it's a supernova (SN) event in our galaxy, then, probably yes, because chances are extremely high that it would be many thousands of lt-yrs away. And the last known SN in our galaxy happened in 1604, before the invention of the telescope (1609).
If it's something that happens on the Sun, well, CMEs (coronal mass ejections) happen all the time -- many times per year in the active part of the Sun's 11-year cycle. (BTW, the Sun can't become a SN; it has too little mass.)
If it's an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) you're thinking of, then I think the jury is still out on that one. Lots of devices we rely on would be inoperable for an extended time.
Can you be more specific?
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Depends on how catastrophic.
an EMP large enough to cause SEL (Single Event Latch-up) in semiconductors is actually not that large but it would completely destroy any computer without protection circuits.
So it would be catastrophic to anyone with a pacemaker but anyone else would not know what had killed their computer. For and EMP to affect a biological system it would have to be at least 1 million times greater and even nuclear bombs don't create an EMP that big.
an EMP large enough to cause SEL (Single Event Latch-up) in semiconductors is actually not that large but it would completely destroy any computer without protection circuits.
So it would be catastrophic to anyone with a pacemaker but anyone else would not know what had killed their computer. For and EMP to affect a biological system it would have to be at least 1 million times greater and even nuclear bombs don't create an EMP that big.
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Can you give example?