| Most People Probably Won't Find This Interesting [message #139180] |
Fri, 18 February 2005 16:43  |
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Blazer
Messages: 3322
Registered: February 2003
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Karma: 0
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General (3 Stars)
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http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/bright_flash_050218.html
This is, in a word, incredible.
For those to "arsed" to actually click the link, basically a dense magnetic neutron star, far far away let off explosion of gamma rays that is greater than anything we have ever seen or could imagine. If it was within 10 light years of Earth, we would all be dead now. The blast originated about 50,000 light-years away.
"The blast was 100 times more powerful than any other similar eruption witnessed"
"The star, named SGR 1806-20, spins once on its axis every 7.5 seconds, and it is surrounded by a magnetic field more powerful than any other object in the universe."
"The flare on SGR 1806-20 unleashed about 10,000 trillion trillion trillion watts of energy."
"This is a once in a lifetime event, We have observed an object only 20 kilometers across [12 miles], on the other side of our galaxy, releasing more energy in a tenth of a second than the Sun emits in 100,000 years."
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| Most People Probably Won't Find This Interesting [message #139186] |
Fri, 18 February 2005 17:01  |
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IRON FART
Messages: 1989
Registered: September 2003
Location: LOS ANGELES
Karma: 0
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General (1 Star) |
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Well, in all fairness, this must've happened at least 50,000 years ago. icon_smile.gif
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Yes! I forgot about that. 50,000 light years would have taken 50,000 to travel at lightspeed. Revelation!
Thats interesting.
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Quote from IRC
<[Digital]> get man_fucking_a_car.mpg
<[Digital]> ah fuck wrong window
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| Most People Probably Won't Find This Interesting [message #139196] |
Fri, 18 February 2005 17:41 |
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cowmisfit
Messages: 2035
Registered: May 2003
Karma: 0
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General (2 Stars) |
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| TheGunrun |
hmmm that happend the day of the tsunami... could the earth quake have spawned form this explosion?
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You know, that is a damn good question. But it didn't "happen" on that day, it was close enough for us to detect that day, it happened 50,000 years ago.
This is mind boggling, very interesting stuff, /me prints off to show science teacher.
[Updated on: Fri, 18 February 2005 17:42] Report message to a moderator |
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| Most People Probably Won't Find This Interesting [message #139320] |
Sat, 19 February 2005 06:20 |
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Walrus
Messages: 382
Registered: February 2003
Location: Good old England
Karma: 0
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Commander |
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Strange, isn't it. To think that everything on our world could have wiped out in a heart beat from something we have no control over, and still only limited understanding about. Every single little thing would have been solved in moments. I have been wondering how much time I have left, and if that neutron star was just a little bit (in terms of the universe) closer it wouldn't have mattered. 50,000 years ago my life would have been dictated by something I didn't even know existed and could not even see. I goes to show that never in your life do you think you will be someone else's murder victim, that a big fucking interstellar bus is gonna come rolling down the street just as you cross.
Now that just makes me smile, and a little sad. Its always good to know just how small you are.
By the time that burst is registered by another world who are intelligent enough to know what happened, we will all be gone. 50,000 years is a long time.
One Last Time
"England expects that every man will do his duty"
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