News from the Universe

The author, who saw auroras in the Seattle area, argues that events like this are rare examples of news from the universe and that humanity has not yet registered on the rest of the universe. He lists four extraplanetary news events in just under 50 years: auroras in 2024, Betelgeuse dimming in 2019, the 'Oumuamua visit in 2017, and Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashing into Jupiter in 1994. He estimates a typical human life brings about 7 such events, and says the auroras were weather news rather than headline cosmic news. He also notes that NASA runs a space weather service with 30-minute updates.