See that hole? You guys will never use my amp again, I don't care if you have to go unplugged.
Posted on 01/21/2011 1:20:10 PM PST by markomalley
The Earth could soon have a second sun, at least for a week or two.
The cosmic phenomenon will happen when one of the brightest stars in the night sky explodes into a supernova.
And, according to a report yesterday, the most stunning light show in the planet’s history could happen as soon as this year.
Earth will undoubtedly have a front row seat when the dying red supergiant star Betelgeuse finally blows itself into oblivion.
The explosion will be so bright that even though the star in the Orion constellation is 640 light-years away, it will still turn night into day and appear like there are two suns in the sky for a few weeks.
The only real debate is over exactly when it will happen.
In stellar terms, Betelgeuse is predicted to crash and burn in the very near future. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to rush out and buy sunglasses.
Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, claimed yesterday that the galactic blast could happen before 2012 – or any time over the next million years.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
See that hole? You guys will never use my amp again, I don't care if you have to go unplugged.
It took 14 posts.
Whenever we see it, the news is approximately 640 years old, since it took that long for the light of the blast to reach us.
When it does happen, it’ll be extremely old news. If it happens in our lifetime the event itself will have taken place prior to Columbus being born.
My condolences to Ford Prefect.
Betelguese will only go nova on Super Bowl Sunday as the Chicago Bears beat the date rapists from Steeltown.
I'm placing some kryptonite on board to repel the Usurper-in-Thief from attending the game. Talk about corruption, I bet he gets his front row box seats out of the US Tresury.
The scientist quoted said as early as this year- or sometime in the next million years.... gotta love those Daily Mail exaggerated headlines.
We can all form a new super hero team called the Fantastic Four Billion!
-PJ
catastrophism ping.
What do you want to bet that someone is gearing up to make some money out of protecting us from speeding neutrinos and seven cults are predicting the imminent arrival of refugees bringing eternal life and/or eternal damnation?
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant (18-19 solar masses). This is exactly the type of star that can be expected to go supernova within a few million years. It is generally believed that any star of more than 10 solar masses will go through a supernova stage after going through a red supergiant stage.
“That’s why the Rapturists haven’t glommed on to this thread. If it’s not just around the corner, it ain’t a sign of the Second Coming.”
You are certainly in for a big surprise. Remember, don’t take the Mark. Good luck.
“The working theory is that the supernova already occurred in the year 1372 and a disturbance was observed by multiple cultures at the instant of the explosion.”
Now I am confused. If nothing can travel faster than light, how could any disturbance, shock wave, distortion, or anything have been felt? It would seem just the opposite. I think that if we see it the radiation or shrapnell or whatever would be soon to follow.
Thanks for clarifying.
It might have already happened, upwards of 640 years ago.
We would be seeing it just now.
IF we knew what signs are precursors to a supernova and had verified the timing ,and if Betelgeuse has shown those signs then there might be some credibility to a supernova prediction.But since so much cosmology is speculation piled on theory based on assumption,and even the “standard candle” and Hubble constant aren’t certain,I’d say this supernova prediction is pure bunkum! Really detailed observational astronomy ,spectroscopic analysis,the existence of x- and gamma rays, and much more have only been studied for a century or so.Not nearly 640 years. Basing your prediction on some vague historical refernces made by naked-eye observations is like the man who built a house of cards upon sand.
I wonder if the professional astronomers ever actually look through a telescope anymore or just sit at computer terminals.
Anyway there was a New Zealander who discovered a number of supernovas pre-2000 with a modest homebuilt scope ,I think he spent many hundreds of hours looking for every one he found.It helps to live in those places on the Earth which have a view of the entire universe.There are stars in the southern sky that cannot be seen from northern latitudes and vice versa.
The catastrophe happens if our magnetic shell collapses and restarts with pole shift during the time the burst is arriving.
The intergalactic version of Gary, Indiana.
Yeah that’s the part I’m not exactly understanding myself, I remember reading a very well written PDF I can’t find now. If I can find it then I’ll grab the blurb out of it that kinda substantiates that.
So, if it’s 640 light-years away, does that mean it happened about 640 years ago?
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