Brightest Galactic Flash Ever Detected Hits Earth

Space.Com ^ | 18 February, 2005 | Robert Roy Britt

[clyde asbury]

The ozone layer is caused by UV (sunlight) disassociating oxygen molecules in the upper atmosphere.

It's much less fragile than the media represents, too, I suspect.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

"Does this mean all our neighbors on the other side of the galaxy were wiped out?"

Neelix has gone to the Great Forest.

[ChadGore]

From the article:

The flare on SGR 1806-20 unleashed about 10,000 trillion trillion trillion watts of power.

and I thought "billions and billions" was a lot.

Carl Seagan would be proud:

[UCANSEE2]

Thanks for your response.

I have ongoing repartee's with two professionals (and I am sure I know who you are talking about).

I miss one poster, who was very experienced in these areas. I haven't heard from him in a long time. He was a well known, published, top scientist for NASA. I hope he is ok.

But there are always unknowns out there, like this flash.

Exactly.

[MikeD]

There are two problems when forming a neutron star -- you have to get something with roughly the mass of a few suns, and you have to compact it into a 10-mile or so radius. The only way to support the mass at that size is via neutron pressure. Electron degeneracy won't do it (hence the collapse from white dwarf to neutron star).

Current thinking is that the core is iron/nickel, with a few other radioactive decaying things in there to generate heat (along with the gravitational "squishing").

[UCANSEE2]

Thanks for the information.

Rather a large ball of nickle-iron.

At least, in theory.

[UCANSEE2]

Your not supposed to tell the public that ozone is regenerative.

[UCANSEE2]

Let me clarify. Everyone seems to miss part of my original qoute.

A neutron star is the remnant of a star that was once several times more massive than the Sun. When their nuclear fuel is depleted, they explode as a supernova. The remaining dense core is slightly more massive than the Sun but has a diameter typically no more than 12 miles (20 kilometers).

The remaining dense core is what I was referring to.

Also it seems that that core would be more DENSE than the sun, not more MASSIVE. IIRC, MASS is a factor of DENSITY and SIZE, or am I losing it?

[Molly Pitcher]

Here's some more...

[clyde asbury]

Current thinking is that the core is iron/nickel, with a few other radioactive decaying things in there to generate heat (along with the gravitational "squishing").

Thanks for the refresher. I remembered the composition was of heavy metals but couldn't recall the exact elements.

What I did remember, but didn't post, is that these stars have the same density as atomic nuclei.

[e_engineer]

Also it seems that that core would be more DENSE than the sun, not more MASSIVE. IIRC, MASS is a factor of DENSITY and SIZE, or am I losing it?

It MUST be close to the mass of the sun, and it MUST be much, much more dense than the sun. The minimum mass for a neutron star is in the range of 0.88 to 1.28 solar masses. If the mass was less, it would not have enough gravity to overcome the electron degeneracy pressure to become a neutron star.

If the earth's core contained a neutron star, our tallest mountains would be a few inches tall at most, and we would be crushed to death by the gravitational pressure. The earth 's diameter would be compressed down to the surface of the internal neutron star. The atmosphere would only be a few inches thick, and the sun and earth would both orbit a common center of mass located half way between them.

The orbits of Mercury, Venus, and Mars would be impossible at their current distances from the sun. I have not done the calculations, but I think the moon would suffer tidal disruption (it would become a disk) at its current distance.

Things would be very different. Women and minorities would be hit hardest.

[clyde asbury]

..MASS is a factor of DENSITY and SIZE, or am I losing it?

Mass is a factor of itself. It's either there or it isn't.

There is neither density nor size to something which isn't there.

The remaining dense core is slightly more massive than the Sun but has a diameter typically no more than 12 miles (20 kilometers).

[Da_Shrimp]

The core you postulate would still have the same gravity as the sun, since gravity is related to mass. We'd be squashed flat!

[Heatseeker]

Pierson's Puppeteers have already gotten the hell out of Dodge.

Nah, I'm guessing the Ringworld collapsed.