New evidence for nearby Solar-like planetary system [Vega]

spaceflightnow.com ^ | 5 Dec 03 | staff

[Consort]

25 years

So, Vega could have been swallowed up by a black hole and ejected somewhere else in the galaxy closer to earth and we could be seeing the light from Vega from both the old and the new locations at the same time. Yes? No?

[CurlyDave]

The "swallowing" would be a highly energetic event — we would know about it if it had happened long enough ago for the light to get to us. A very short time in astronomical measurments.

I do not believe there is any way for a black hole to eject anything.

[hc87]

So, Vega could have been swallowed up by a black hole and ejected somewhere else in the galaxy closer to earth and we could be seeing the light from Vega from both the old and the new locations at the same time. Yes? No?

No. A black hole is the extremely compacted remains of a very large and dense star that has collapsed because it has burned out all of its fuel (hydrogen, helium, etc). Imagine a star that has a diameter that extends out as far the orbit of Venus. Now compact all of that mass down to something the size of a Volkswagen. That's basically what happen when a black hole forms. A black hole is like a really heavy iron anchor--the mass in it is not going anywhere. While some people have hypothesized that matter that enters a black hole goes somewhere (i.e creating a new "daughter" universe or going someplace else in this universe), I think the current thinking is that matter just stays where it is, at the bottom of a very deep gravity well.

Vega could, in theory, not exist at the moment, having exploded (a supernova). Having done a little on-line research, I'm not at all sure that Vega is big enough to go supernova, which would mean the odds of Vega not being there at the moment are extremely, extremely long.

One correction, after having done a little more reading. In an earlier post, said that Vega will go nova within a billion. I now have found out that novas only occur in binary star systems, when the matter of one star sucked onto the surface of its companion and ignites. Vega will probably swell up to a much large size as it nears the end of its life, consume most of its planets and then collapse into a white dwarf.

[Consort]

Imagine a star that has a diameter that extends out as far the orbit of Venus. Now compact all of that mass down to something the size of a Volkswagen. That's basically what happen when a black hole forms.

Somehow, I think that concept will be proven wrong as more knowledge is gained.

[inquest]

...but Tau Ceti always seemed like too far out of the main trade routes of the local cluster to be commercially valuable.

But it's only 11 light-years away. How close to the highway do you need it to be?

[RightWhale]

We're not on the highway now, either, Tau Ceti is even farther off the travelled road. Go toward Sagittarius.

[Ahban]

Isn't Vega young? If it still has the disk of gas around it then it is too early to say that it is like our solar system. They think that what happens is that large planets form quite a distance away from the star and then slowly spiral in. In other words, Vega may wind up as just another system with a "Hot Jupiter".

[Kozak]

Lets hope it doesn't turn into one of these