April Fools 2023

[Marcel de Bont]

Our article about Donald Trump wanting to nuke the Sun was course the 2023 SpaceWeatherLive April Fools prank. It was fun to see all the responses everywhere and we had great fun making this article. If you missed the prank, here is the article once more, preserved before the page will be removed.

Donald Trump: Use nuclear weapons for more northern lights

Former US president Donald Trump has stated at a press conference earlier this morning that he will propose that all the nations of the world should fire their nuclear weapons at the Sun if he gets re-elected as president of the United States.

The former US president states that nuclear weapons remain a key treat to the existence of life on Earth and we should dispose of them as soon as possible. Trump goes on to say that the world would be a better place if all the countries around the world would fire their nuclear weapons at the Sun instead of pointing them at each other.

• Donald Trump at a press conference this morning where he announces a radical proposal to fire nuclear weapons at the Sun.

By firing all of our nuclear weapons at the Sun we will come one step closer to world peace and making America great again according to the former US president. An added benefit of disposing weapons this way is that there will not be any nuclear waste which would be a problem if we dismantled the weapons here on Earth. Trump goes on to claim that his plan would have the additional benefit of increasing the amount and strength of solar flares due to what he calls - introducing extra nuclear fuel to our Sun. Trump goes on to state that the past Solar Cycle was a real dud and while the current Solar Cycle is stronger, it is still nothing compared to the strength of historical solar cycles. He hopes that by firing nuclear weapons at the Sun, the solar flares and resulting coronal mass ejections will become strong enough for massive aurora displays which he hopes will be seen and lift the spirits of all US citizens no matter where they are on this planet. He ends the press conference with a personal confession that it has always been one of his deepest desires to be able to see the northern lights from his resort Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Scientists say the idea is a bit crazy but it could very well work. SpaceWeatherLive got in touch with Heliophysicist Dr. Emmett Brown questioning if it is safe to fire nuclear weapons at the Sun and what kind of effects would it have. Dr. Brown responds that he is optimistic and enthusiastic about the plans. Brown says: Our Sun is absolutely massive with a radius of about 700.000 kilometers. It is already constantly producing heat and other forms of radiation thanks to the nuclear fusion reactions in its core. Firing all of our nuclear weapons at the Sun would cause no harm at all. It would be like tickling an elephant with a chicken feather. The elephant would not even notice it and neither would our Sun.

• Heliophysicist Dr. Emmett Brown on his way to lunch at the NOAA SWPC in Boulder, Colorado.

Emmett Brown continues to say that Donald Trump did his research and is likely right with his assessment that adding more nuclear energy to the Sun from our nuclear weapons would be beneficial for solar activity. Doctor Brown compares it with adding fuel to a fire. You are introducing more energy to the processes that produce solar flares which would cause more and stronger solar flares over what he estimates to be a period of a couple of weeks. This means the Sun would launch more coronal mass ejections and that means more and stronger aurora here at Earth. Trump might just get to see the northern lights from his resort in Palm Beach, Florida!

• An artist impression of the northern lights above resort Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida made by our understaffed Photoshop department.