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“Seeding the Cosmos for Life” –From Supernova to Super Bubbles
Daily Galaxy ^ | 7/29/2021 | Maxwell Moe

Posted on 07/29/2021 2:22:02 PM PDT by LibWhacker

“Seeding the Cosmos for Life” –From Supernova to Super Bubbles 

Posted on Jul 29, 2021 in Astrobiology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Science

Supernova

 

Supernova explosions release as much energy in a second as our Sun will in its entire 10-billion year existence. Without supernovae, “there would be no computer chips, trilobites, Mozart or the tears of a little girl,” wrote science writer Clifford A. Pickover.

When a massive star explodes at the end of its life, the explosion ejects essential elements – carbon, oxygen, and iron – that form the basis for life across the universe. The supernovae also release tremendous amounts of radiative, thermal, and kinetic energy into the surrounding environment.  According to a new study led by Francisco Rodríguez Montero and colleagues at the University of Oxford, supernovae explosions could pack up to six times more punch on the surrounding interstellar gas with the help of cosmic rays. 

Source of the mysterious form of radiation known as cosmic rays

When supernovae explode, they emit light and billions of particles into space. While the light can freely reach us, particles become trapped in spiral loops by magnetic shockwaves generated during the explosions. Crossing back and forth through shock fronts, these particles are accelerated almost to the speed of light and are thought to be the source of the mysterious form of radiation known as cosmic rays.

Influence of cosmic rays in galaxy evolution not well understood.

Due to their immense speed, cosmic rays experience strong relativistic effects, effectively losing less energy than regular matter and allowing them to travel great distances through a galaxy. Along the way, they affect the energy and structure of interstellar gas in their path and may play a crucial role in shutting down the formation of new stars in dense pockets of gas. However, to date, the influence of cosmic rays in galaxy evolution has not been well understood.

In the first high-resolution numerical study of its kind, the team ran simulations of the evolution of the shockwaves emanating from supernovae explosions over several million years. They found that cosmic rays can play a critical role in the final stages of a supernova’s evolution and its ability to inject energy into the galactic gas that surrounds it.

“Initially, the addition of cosmic rays does not appear to change how the explosion evolves. Nevertheless, when the supernova reaches the stage in which it cannot gain more momentum from the conversion of the supernova’s thermal energy to kinetic energy, we found that cosmic rays can give an extra push to the gas, allowing for the final momentum imparted to be up to 4-6 times higher than previously predicted,” explains Rodríguez Montero.

The results suggest that gas outflows driven from the interstellar medium into the surrounding tenuous gas, or circumgalactic medium, will be dramatically more massive than previously estimated.

 

ESO Superbubble

 

Creation of super-bubbles

Contrary to state-of-the-art theoretical arguments, the simulations also suggest that the extra push provided by cosmic rays is more significant when massive stars explode in low-density environments. This could facilitate the creation of super-bubbles powered by successive generations of supernovae, sweeping gas from the interstellar medium and venting it out of galactic discs. Superbubbles are colossal cavities stretching hundreds of light years, carved out of interstellar gas and dust by radiation. The gas is often heated to nearly 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, causing it to emit high-powered X-rays. These chemically enriched super-bubbles may eventually seed the intergalactic medium with heavy elements, explaining why gas in the voids between galaxies still have some metal content. It’s a mystery, however, exactly what generates all the powerful radiation that superbubbles emit.

The N 44 superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud –a small neighbouring galaxy to the Milky Way–shown in the image above has been produced by the combination of two processes, reports the ESO: “Firstly, stellar winds — streams of charged particles from the very hot and massive stars in the central cluster — cleared out the central region. Then massive cluster stars exploded as supernovae creating shockwaves and pushing the gas out further to form the glowing bubble.

“Although the superbubble is shaped by destructive forces, new stars are forming around the edges where the gas is being compressed. Like recycling on a cosmic scale, this next generation of stars will breathe fresh life into star cluster NGC 1929.”

 “Our results are a first look at the extraordinary new insights that cosmic rays will provide to our understanding of the complex nature of galaxy formation,” concludes Rodríguez Montero.

The Daily Galaxy, Maxwell Moe, astrophysicist, NASA Einstein Fellow, University of Arizona via Royal Astronomical Society

Image at top of page: An artist’s impression of a supernova, NASA/ESA/G. Bacon, STScI


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: bubbles; cosmic; rays; supernova
Gee whiz fact of the day: Supernova explosions release as much energy in a second as our Sun will in its entire 10-billion year existence.
1 posted on 07/29/2021 2:22:02 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

Think about this for a minute and you realize it makes no sense.


2 posted on 07/29/2021 3:12:50 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: LibWhacker

“Although the superbubble is shaped by destructive forces, new stars are forming around the edges where the gas is being compressed. Like recycling on a cosmic scale, this next generation of stars will breathe fresh life into star cluster NGC 1929.”

Applied umiverse-wide (literally, in this case), doesn’t the above statement advance a concept of creation and recreation on a scale that directly contradicts the “heat death of the Universe” concept currently popular among astronomers and physicists?


3 posted on 07/29/2021 3:14:26 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort today forges tomorrow. )
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To: LibWhacker

The truth of the matter (play on words) is this:

Only Life begets life.

All of the elements and energy in the universe ( which was created by a Life) is just dust. Science knows it is. Its testable and proven. Real science.

Life begets life.


4 posted on 07/29/2021 3:14:48 PM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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To: LibWhacker

So if it is true that all matter aside from hydrogen and maybe helium and some elements up to iron come from supernovas, how many supernovas would it take to create the quantities of matter we see surrounding every single star? Not to mention the multitudes of rogue planets wandering around. And all this matter being madly dispersed by supernovas at very high velocities. It must be trillions of supernovas. And all in only 14 billion years? Lets’ say tons of gold are created. This gold disperses at extremely high temperatures in all directions. How does it later coalesce together into lumps. And how do other elements recombine? Wouldn’t it all just be in a generally dispersed cloud? Why would it ever collapse together again? Certainly gases don’t collapse together. It’s a convenient explanation for star formation. But gases don’t behave like that. Hydrogen in a vacuum just disperses.

Questions questions.


5 posted on 07/29/2021 3:17:53 PM PDT by Seruzawa (The political Left is the Garden of Eden of Incompetence - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: Fungi

Makes sense to me... Where do you spot contradictions?


6 posted on 07/29/2021 3:28:42 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: Manly Warrior

And God said, “Let there be light,” and then there was this Big Bang


7 posted on 07/29/2021 3:29:07 PM PDT by seowulf (Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos...Will Durant)
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To: Seruzawa
Certainly gases don’t collapse together.

Some 90% of newly formed stars is hydrogen. Most of the rest is helium. Gravity causes those gases to collapse into stars.

8 posted on 07/29/2021 3:36:21 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: LibWhacker

Fascinating stuff...but I still hate it when a hippie says “We’re made of stars”, or some such thing.


9 posted on 07/29/2021 3:37:40 PM PDT by simpson96
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To: LibWhacker

I hate to tell Clifford there are no trilobites.


10 posted on 07/29/2021 3:51:03 PM PDT by ifinnegan ( Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: Manly Warrior

What’s life?


11 posted on 07/29/2021 3:52:32 PM PDT by ifinnegan ( Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: simpson96

I hate when a hippie says anything. :)


12 posted on 07/29/2021 3:53:36 PM PDT by ifinnegan ( Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: LibWhacker

How come no news about that new Russian thing pushing the ISS out of orbit or something


13 posted on 07/29/2021 3:54:26 PM PDT by butlerweave
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To: butlerweave
Thanks! Hadn't heard about that.

Here's the story.

Apparently all is okay now. If you can believe that; it's never okay when the Russians are involved IMO.

14 posted on 07/29/2021 4:03:17 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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To: seowulf

No, the big bang fantasy is not compatible with the account described in Genesis. The big bang, string theory etc are all absent of a Creator, and hence, worthless. All science points to primary cause and effect, no cause, no effect. You can only have it one way. Accident, “because it hand to” etc all fail the basics of science.


15 posted on 07/30/2021 6:00:01 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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To: ifinnegan

NOUN
the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death:

Pretty easy, huh?

The only portion missing from the definition is ability to know, decide and act willfully.

No naturalistic processes have ever been shown to produce life.


16 posted on 07/30/2021 6:04:27 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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To: ifinnegan

Actually, in the New Testament, there are three terms describing life. Bios, Pusche, and Zoe.

Bios, as you can imagine equates to processes of converting non living compounds or energy into food for edutainment, replication or reproduction. Basic processes that require a design. A plant combining light and elements into carbs etc.

Psyche, or modernly, pscyhe, self or sentient awareness, feeling, knowledge etc.

Zoe, divine or supernatural.

The first two are derived from the last. Nothing happens until something or someone makes it.

Even in nature, we may think a star is undergoing nuclear fusion etc due solely to natural processes, gravity etc.but in fact a start up input of energy, and no, again, nothing happens without cause, was required. In the beginning, God created.....

Even if big bang wad compatible with the creation account, nothing does something. In the abstract, someone did something. Out of nothing.

Zoe, or Divine life as in God, exists outside and greater than the universe he created. It’s his.

Regards.


17 posted on 07/30/2021 2:40:51 PM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War" )
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