Posted on 06/10/2009 9:14:37 PM PDT by TaraP
A bright star may soon explode in a supernova, according to data released by U.C. Berkeley researchers Tuesday.
The red giant Betelgeuse, once so large it would reach out to Jupiter's orbit if placed in our own solar system, has shrunk by 15 percent over the past decade in a half, although it's just as bright as it's ever been.
"To see this change is very striking," said retired Berkeley physics professor Charles Townes, who won the 1964 Nobel Prize for inventing the laser. "We will be watching it carefully over the next few years to see if it will keep contracting or will go back up in size."
Betelgeuse, whose name derives from Arabic, is easily visible in the constellation Orion. It gave Michael Keaton's character his name in the movie "Beetlejuice" and was the home system of Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Does the woman in Revelation 12-1 and 12-2 figure into the constellations et al?
I’ve wondered this before. I don’t know. A possibility is that, because the stars move and the constellations change over the course of the passing ages, many of the references are describing changes observed in the celestial bodies or, possibly, celestial bodies which were not listed by Ptolemy but which existed in ancient times none-the-less. I believe that anybody who claims to have perfect understanding of revelations is a liar. I make no such claims. I only point out that there are many references to astrological entities in the bible and it seems very probable that someone attempting to tell a story that spans ages would use the movements of the constellations and their resident stars as references to establish their timeline.
it also seems likely that ancient men spent a great deal of time and energy oberving and contemplating the stars while never really understanding them. I would bet that changes in the heavens 20,000 years ago did not go unnoticed. A supernova, for example, would have been big news even then; although it would be misunderstood and, consequently, would be described in a manner that was not altogether understandable by modern men.
Gamma ray burst. It could do series damage to the Earth and her inhabitants.
I always use invisible ink. Unfortunately, I can never tell if I’ve run out.
FYI
Yes. How about, No one on this planet has a frickin clue ?
But, the ‘ego’ of many is such that they can’t accept that the world doesn’t revolve around them.
That is why each generation insists that the ‘end is near’.
That’s an old one.......
And I remember it :(
Dang! Even jupiter doesn’t rate as a pixel in that box with the Sun!
ping
cannot be, all was nothing 6001 years ago
< /sarc>
She could act her way into my heart . <3
(^;
Hopefully, it will happen during the winter, when Orion is in the nighttime sky.
Be still, my beating heart!
Wish full thinking, the "safe" distance from a supernova explosion is 1,500 light years. Also, no one knows that this star might do, so know one knows the dangers (if any) to the Earth. However 600 light years is pretty close to us. Should BealtteJouice go supernova and should we in the gamma ray burst path not much will survive. Microbes at depth (caves/oceans) probably have the best chance.
If the gamma rays don't get us then there are all those heavy elements being flung out of the system, planet size debris flying at us hundreds of miles per second. Anything large hits us and it's another bad day for the Earth.
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