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Earth is at the center of a 1,000-light-year-wide 'Swiss cheese' bubble carved out by supernovas
Live Science ^ | Harry Baker

Posted on 01/12/2022 12:19:47 PM PST by BenLurkin

Researchers have long wondered what created this "superbubble." Now, a new study suggests that at least 15 powerful star explosions inflated this cosmic bubble.

Astronomers in the 1970s first discovered the gigantic void, known as the Local Bubble, after realizing that no stars had formed inside the blob for around 14 million years. The only stars inside the bubble either existed before the bubble emerged or formed outside the void and are now passing through; the sun is one such trespasser. This setup had suggested that several supernovas were responsible for this void. Those stellar explosions, the researchers said, would have blasted the materials needed to make new stars, such as hydrogen gas, to the edge of a huge area in space, leaving behind the Local Bubble that's surrounded by a frenzy of star births.

In the new study, published online Jan. 12 in the journal Nature, researchers accurately mapped the star-forming regions surrounding the Local Bubble and, in doing so, calculated how fast the superbubble is expanding. This allowed the team to work out exactly how many supernovas were needed to carve out the gigantic cosmic void and better understand how star-forming regions are created across the Milky Way.

The researchers used data obtained by the European Space Agency's Gaia space observatory to create a 3D map of the Local Bubble's surface and to calculate the trajectory of the seven main star-forming regions that make up the "skin" of the bubble. The observations also allowed the researchers to work out how fast the cosmic void is expanding, which is currently around 4 miles per second (6.4 kilometers per second)...

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy
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To: Alas Babylon!

I want a starship.


21 posted on 01/12/2022 1:16:05 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire. Or both.)
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To: Verginius Rufus
Who comes up with these names?
And what genius came up with HD44954, that's what I want to know!
22 posted on 01/12/2022 1:17:10 PM PST by Mr Radical (In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.)
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To: Alas Babylon!

I still wonder if it is possible that as our solar system wanders around the Milky Way that we occasionally enter areas of electro-magnetic disturbance of a frequency that can cause a disruption in human neuropathways thereby influencing cognition.

IOW... Earth flies through a Stupid Zone in the Universe.

It’d explain our politics over the last 20 years or so quite nicely.


23 posted on 01/12/2022 1:19:21 PM PST by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: BenLurkin

Maybe the earth is actually an atom in the middle of a hole in a slice of Swiss cheese stuffed into a ham sandwich on a giant’s table, and we’re about to be gobbled up.


24 posted on 01/12/2022 1:28:27 PM PST by Rufii
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To: Rufii

Maybe we’re shooting along in a large semiconductor.


25 posted on 01/12/2022 1:31:36 PM PST by GingisK
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To: Mr Radical

I believe HD is a reference to the Henry Draper catalogue.

Thus HD44954 would refer to the 44964th entry in the catalog.


26 posted on 01/12/2022 1:36:10 PM PST by FroggyTheGremlim (I'll be good, I will, I will!)
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To: BenLurkin

“It is by chance that the sun is centered inside the bubble”

What are the odds? We live in such unique times.


27 posted on 01/12/2022 1:38:51 PM PST by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
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To: FroggyTheGremlim

44954th entry.


28 posted on 01/12/2022 1:40:06 PM PST by FroggyTheGremlim (I'll be good, I will, I will!)
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To: Salman

“Seriously. Just the right place for life to exist?”

Yup. Total accident. Sorta like how aircraft carriers accidentally spring into being fully assembled.


29 posted on 01/12/2022 1:49:34 PM PST by MercyFlush (DANGER: You are being conditioned to view your freedom as selfish)
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To: BenLurkin

So what happened 5,000,000 years ago?

Seems that we would have gone through a very bumpy ride when going through the shock wave/star forming region.


30 posted on 01/12/2022 2:00:04 PM PST by Pikachu_Dad ("the media are selling you a line of soap)
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To: Pikachu_Dad

Oh, WE happened ! Lol

“ Although the animal species “hominid” has several different definitions it is commonly defined as referring to the species from which modern man developed. Thus, our ancient ancestors were similar in appearance to apes.

The hominids evolved into several different species whose modern day counterparts include apes, gorillas, monkeys, orangutans, and, of course, humans. They appeared on earth about 5 million years ago and were primarily vegetarians, eating fruits and nuts.

Some hominids eventually evolved into humans, but originally they had brains that were much smaller than ours and they had teeth that were much bigger.

The hominids lived during a dynamic period of earth evolution in which volcanoes were numerous and erupted frequently, spewing lava, gas, and rock into the air. Survival for them must have been a challenge!

Hominids seemed to have originated in what we now know as Africa. At some point in time our distant relatives evolved from the early ape like hominids and the features that distinguished early human forms from other hominids were their ability to walk on two feet, their larger brains, and their ability to include meat in their diet.”


31 posted on 01/12/2022 2:02:04 PM PST by Pikachu_Dad ("the media are selling you a line of soap)
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To: Pikachu_Dad

So the END of one Era

“ Proterozoic Eon (2,500 – 541 million years ago)

The oxygenation of the atmosphere by cyanobacteria had extreme consequences. One iron deposits in the oceans had been filled, produced oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere. Oxygen was poisonous to anaerobic life so the activity of cyanobacteria killed off many anaerobic species. This oxygenation also had the effect of allowing the development of multicellular eukaryotic life. Oxygen is very reactive so the oxygenation of the atmosphere allowed the development of organisms that could use oxygen. It is believed that the first eukaryotes emerged from the symbiosis of prokaryotic life.

At the time, the atmosphere was made of mostly methane which is a very potent greenhouse gas. The accumulated oxygen reacted with the methane, making carbon dioxide. The lowered greenhouse effect caused a global drop in temperatures and plunged the earth into a 300,000,000 year long ice age. During this “snowball Earth” period, the entire surface of the Earth was frozen or nearly frozen.

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During this time period, the Earth went through a high amount of tectonic activity resulting in the formation and fragmenting of a number of supercontinents, including ones named Columbia, Rodina, Laurentia, and Gondwana. Radiation from the sun still made land relatively inhospitable, so most life existed in the oceans. Over time, oxygen accumulation created the ozone layer which allowed life to diversify on land.”


32 posted on 01/12/2022 2:03:30 PM PST by Pikachu_Dad ("the media are selling you a line of soap)
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To: Responsibility2nd

If we are inside the swiss cheese bubble what if the cheese is in a bologna sandwich about to be eaten by a fat, obnoxious giant alien boy somewhere out there?

Humbling thought.


33 posted on 01/12/2022 2:03:52 PM PST by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: Pikachu_Dad

And the START of the third age.

“ Paleozoic Era (541 – 245 million years ago)

The beginning of the Paleozoic era in the Cambrian period signified the largest diversification of life in Earth’s history. Starting with the development of hard-shelled invertebrates in the ocean, the diversity of life saw a huge uptick that resulted in the development of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

First came the development of fish and other invertebrates in the ocean. Eventually, certain fish species moved to the land. these first fish species to make their way onto the land are the ancestors of every land-dwelling eukaryote since, humans included. The first vertebrate land animals were amphibians who began to populate the continent of Gondwana. Around this time, the first arthropods and insects also emerged.

During this time, large plant species flourished on land and contributed to the accumulation of oxygen. Major shifts in the Earth’s climate contributed to the destruction of theses forests resulting in an event called the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse. The compacting of the forest formed the majority of coal deposits in the world and the collapse of the forests dominating the land cleared the space for the development of reptiles.

The Paleozoic Era ended with the Permian-Triassic extinction event which killed off 96% of marine life and 70% of terrestrial life. The dominant theory on the nature of the Permian-Triassic extinction event is that a giant meteor struck Earth, which caused long term climate damage and volcanic eruptions.”


34 posted on 01/12/2022 2:04:47 PM PST by Pikachu_Dad ("the media are selling you a line of soap)
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To: Rufii

According to my post #33, you are a genius. 😇


35 posted on 01/12/2022 2:06:36 PM PST by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: BenLurkin

later


36 posted on 01/12/2022 2:18:01 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Covid Is All About Mail In Balloting)
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To: Verginius Rufus

Looking at this got me to thinking...

The emptiness of the local bubble means we are less likely to get smashed by space debris while learning how to navigate the stars.

It’s as if “someone” wanted us to have a chill and quiet place to develop our skills...

God?


37 posted on 01/12/2022 2:31:39 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)
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To: BenLurkin
We're also in motion through it. We ARE a starship!


38 posted on 01/12/2022 2:36:55 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)
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To: Alas Babylon!
A "3-D" rendition of the local bubble...

How far are the twin Suns of Tatooine?

39 posted on 01/12/2022 2:41:57 PM PST by Alas Babylon! (Rush, we're missing your take on all of this!)
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To: BenLurkin

No one has ever seen a star form.
We only witness them exploding via a Nova or Supernova...

This is just more junk science...


40 posted on 01/12/2022 2:57:23 PM PST by Pez149 (Time to stop saying a theory is fact....)
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