• Ech@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    across two hemispheres

    Is there any point to this distinction? Why not just say “the entire planet”?

    • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      It was hitting the Americas and the Pacific. And both hemispheres, so north and south alike. That’s because that side of the Earth was facing the sun at that time. I assume the south received the brunt of it due to the axial tilt going into southern summer.

      So it was not the entire planet, just the two hemispheres of North and South and specifically mostly the Americas and the Pacific.

      • Ech@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        So it was only one hemisphere, but instead of being clear and specifying actual locations, the vague description suggests the whole planet was affected. How unhelpful.

    • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      Perhaps it did not substantially fill both hemispheres. Or perhaps they are referring to overlapping hemispheres like the north and west.

      • Routhinator@startrek.website
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        20 hours ago

        It can only hit the side of the planet facing the sun at the time, unless (and heavens forbid) it was some sort of massive coronal burst that was wide an deep enough to bombard the earth for a complete 24 hours.

        Usually the initial bombardment that would be powerful enough to take radio signals down isn’t very long, and thus can only hit one side.

        You can only talk in written terms about hemispheres with a common point of reference. That reference is the axis, with both hemispheres centred on the axis and forming the equator in the middle. Once you have told the reader it affected both hemispheres you need to establish the east-west sections. Which they do by mentioning the Americas and Pacific.

        At one time it was common to see the use of longitudinal and latitudinal spans, but most people are not as familiar with the lines since globes are not as common and digital maps don’t usually display them.