Extinction Level Events

When will the next one happen and what will it be?

When I was an Air Force officer in the 1980’s it was the fourth decade of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. Our two countries had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet several times over. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was responsible for launching nuclear weapons. While I wasn’t a missile officer or a bomber pilot, like all Air Force officers, I was keenly aware of the reality of a nuclear war and the horrific destruction of any weapon launched by either side. It scared the hell of us!

One scenario we discussed was a nuclear winter triggered by large scale nuclear attacks. Smoke and soot would fill the skies and block out sunlight. This would result in massive crop failure and large scale starvation.

An asteroid hitting the earth is a favorite fictional scenario for extinction level events. The award winning Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal is an alternate history of the US space program. The event that kicks off the four book series is an asteroid hitting the eastern US in 1952. The resulting deaths sped up the space race to get off earth and find a new human home. Since there was now a shortage of qualified male astronauts, the country tapped the pool of WWII WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) to start training as astronauts.

• The Calculating Stars - published in 2018.

• The Fated Sky - published in 2018.

• The Relentless Moon - published in 2020.

• The Martian Contingency - published in 2025.

1998 was a great action film year for comets hitting the earth. Armageddon starred Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. It was directed by Michael Bay and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. A massive meteor shower destroys the orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis before it entered the atmosphere and came down on various cities. A comet the size of Texas would hit earth in 18 days. A plan was hatched to blow up the massive comet with a nuclear weapon. Deep oil drillers are rushed through astronaut training and sent on the mission. Explosions, disasters, patriotic music, and destruction ensue. Our heroes triumphantly return to earth at the end of the movie. Here’s the trailer.

Deep Impact movie starring Tea Leoni and Morgan Freeman was also released in 1998. Steven Spielberg was the executive producer. The film was scientifically more accurate than Armageddon and of course didn’t have as happy and tidy an ending. Here’s the movie trailer.

The Aeon book series were the last books published by Matthew Mather. Sadly, the author was killed in a car accident in 2022 at the age of 52. He died shortly after the first book in the series was published and another author helped to complete and publish the series.

A supernova and radiation burst bombarding the planet is causing an extinction level event and the book series follows a number of different groups as they run for a safe place on the planet to survive.

• Aeon Rising - published in 2022.

• Aeon Burn - published in 2023.

• Aeon Fury - published in 2026.

What extinction level event are you most worried about?

How long before humanity is in serious trouble of surviving?

Are you more worried about an event in your lifetime or your children’s?

Please leave a comment.

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