Posted on 09/15/2008 11:47:36 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Don't get the idea that we've found every kind of astronomical object there is in the universe. In a paper to appear in the Astrophysical Journal, astronomers working on the Supernova Cosmology Project report finding a new kind of something that they cannot make any sense of.
Now you don't see it, now you do. Something in Bootes truly in the middle of nowhere — apparently not even in a galaxy — brightened by at least 120 times during more than three months and then faded away. Its spectrum was like nothing ever seen, write the discoverers, with "five broad absorption bands between 4100 and 6500 Angstroms and a mostly featureless continuum longward of 6500 Angstroms." Even the cause of the spectral features is unknown. K. Barbary and othersThe project used the Hubble Space Telescope to monitor very distant galaxy clusters for supernovae. On February 21, 2006, in the direction of a far-away cluster in Bootes named CL 1432.5+3332.8 (redshift 1.112, light travel time 8.2 billion years), Hubble began seeing something brighten. It continued brightening for about 100 days and peaked at 21st magnitude in two near-infrared colors. It then faded away over a similar timescale, until nothing was left in view down to 26th magnitude. The object brightened and faded by a factor of at least 120, maybe more.
The mystery object did not behave like any known kind of supernova. It is not even in any detectable galaxy. "The shape of the light curve is inconsistent with microlensing," say the researchers. They recorded three spectra of it — and its spectrum, they write, "in addition to being inconsistent with all known supernova types, is not matched to any spectrum in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database" of vast numbers of objects. "We suggest that the transient may be one of a new class."
What's its distance? That would certainly be a first step to figuring it out, but only the broadest constraints can be put on its distance. Its lack of parallax motion means that it can't be closer than about 130 light-years, and a lack of cosmic hydrogen absorption in its spectrum means that it can't be farther than 11 billion light-years (when "distance" is defined by light travel time). That leaves a lot of leeway.
Here is the group's paper with all the details. The lead author is Kyle Barbary (University of California at Berkeley).
Perhaps it was a Glint in the Eye of the Creator.
It’s Nibiru! I knew it would show up about now
The Vikings offense?
Looks like my windshield after I hit a bug!
It’s either a Spatial Anomaly from Star Trek or somebody fired up a Stargate from SG1.
I thought it might have been a super massive black hole feeding.
Inconceivable that it's artificial as well. An alien civilization would have to be unbelievably advanced to have the ability to be able to fool around with that much energy.
OTOH, there's always the Class III Dyson civilization to consider...
(funny pic!)
Yep, Obama’s chances, drifting away.
Wish you would have said something earlier. Can I get up off my knees now? :-)
A Dyson sphere?
Well, the good news is that we’ve got it narrowed down to between 130 light-years and 11 billion light-years away.
Doh, it’s sooooo obvious.
Something blew the heck up.
Probably from a Death Star controlled by an evil emperor who wasn’t getting his way.
And while it was just a single explosion, over the distance the light traveled, the light spread. In the same way a shotgun load will spread out - up down forward back - when leaving the barrel on the way to the target.
No. Wait. It wasn’t a planet getting the treatment from the Death Star. Nope. It was Ripley. Detonating and destroying the Nostroma. Yep. That’s what it was.
No. Hang on. It was some kid on Moonbase Alpha. He’d set up a mirrored prism to reflect light. And as the moon moved through space, the light reflected from his prism back to us. Of course, the light source could be unknown.
Oh. Now I know. I was a Solar Array. A vast area full of mirrors. Which can all be controlled from a central location and which can be focused to one place. The people on that small rock were signaling for help. Oh please, we must send out a search and rescue party. For their children.
Light reflecting of the solar panels on an Intergalactic Space Station as it orbits some dark matter?
Whatever it is, we shouldn’t go and investigate. And definitely should not fire any missiles at it when we get there. And certainly nothing bigger than 240s. Not unless the Mondoshawan are nearby carring Milla Jovovich on board with them. Has anyone notified Bruce Willis yet, just in case?
Runaway...
It was a type Bo-I blue & tan supergiant star that exploded. Now, it’s just an O-hole sucking up intergalactic dollars.
ouch - I know the reference...
I've been laboring under the false assumption that I understood the English language. What does this statement mean?
Well the latest Internet Chatter is:
The Galatic Federation is coming to earth October 14th 2008
Final Warning to Mankind (Alien thingy) and supposedly the Gov’t is going to cover up what people will see in the Sky on October 14th it is truly pretty wild!
It’s all over youtube: If that’s any consellation! ;)
Oh one more thing it will be flying over the state of Alabama..
No doubt, the other end of the Alderson Drive tramline ended inside a supergiant.
Good thing there are no more fissionables left in their system.
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