Eta Carinae

[bdewoody]

Just read in Space.com this star could be on the verge of a major event. At 7000LY are we far enough away to not feel any of the effects of it's death? One would hope so. It's a sobering thought that we could be harmed by something that happened 7,000 years ago. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[docm]

We're likely safe, but it's <i>definitely</i> going to be a major fireworks show when Eta Carinae blows its cork <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <br /><br />Betelgeuse won't be a slouch either. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Of course, in cosmological terms, "on the verge" may not mean much to those of us alive today, or even our great-great-great-great grandchildren <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[yevaud]

<b>05.07.07 NASA's Chandra Sees Brightest Supernova Ever</b><br /><br /><i>The brightest stellar explosion ever recorded may be a long-sought new type of supernova, according to observations by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ground-based optical telescopes. This discovery indicates that violent explosions of extremely massive stars were relatively common in the early universe, and that a similar explosion may be ready to go off in our own galaxy.<br /><br />Artist's illustration of supernova SN 2006gy "This was a truly monstrous explosion, a hundred times more energetic than a typical supernova," said Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley, who led a team of astronomers from California and the University of Texas in Austin. "That means the star that exploded might have been as massive as a star can get, about 150 times that of our sun. We've never seen that before."<br /><br />Astronomers think many of the first generation of stars were this massive, and this new supernova may thus provide a rare glimpse of how the first stars died. It is unprecedented, however, to find such a massive star and witness its death. The discovery of the supernova, known as SN 2006gy, provides evidence that the death of such massive stars is fundamentally different from theoretical predictions.<br /><br />"Of all exploding stars ever observed, this was the king," said Alex Filippenko, leader of the ground-based observations at the Lick Observatory at Mt. Hamilton, Calif., and the Keck Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. "We were astonished to see how bright it got, and how long it lasted."</i><br /><br />Full Article at Chandra X-Ray Observatory site<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[docm]

BIG bada-boom.... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Oh dear me, yes.<br /><br />If you note, the Chandra site article mentions Eta Carinae. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[pyoko]

" Even if it did blow as the new supernova did last fall, at a distance of around 7,500 light years, Eta Carinae would be unlikely to cause any serious harm to Earth, astronomers said. The explosion would be visible in the daylight and at night you would be able to read a book by its light. "<br /><br />From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/science/space/08novacnd.html?hp <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="color:#ff9900" class="Apple-style-span">-pyoko</span> <span style="color:#333333" class="Apple-style-span">the</span> <span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span">duck </span></p><p><span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color:#808080;font-style:italic" class="Apple-style-span">It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.</span></span></p> </div>

 

[docm]

Eta Carinae by Hubble (current).<br /><br />"Unstable" doesn't begin to describe it <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[qso1]

bdewoody:<br />At 7000LY are we far enough away to not feel any of the effects of it's death? One would hope so. It's a sobering thought that we could be harmed by something that happened 7,000 years ago.<br /><br />Me:<br />Lets hope the scientists got it right. Eta Car will be a pretty big bang if it goes off in one superblast. It has already apparently had smaller events including one that caused it to brighten in 1830. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

"<i>The explosion would be visible in the daylight and at night you would be able to read a book by its light.</i>"<br /><br />And I would certainly make it a point to... how cool would that be. Of course, being in the northern hemisphere, I'm rooting for betelgeuse. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[3488]

Not only Betelguese. Rasalgethi (Alpha Herculis), Rho Cassiopae, Eta Aurigae, all three belt stars of Orion, Rigel, Saiph, Antares, these can all go Supernovae!!<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[logicize]

I wonder why they waited so long to release this.<br /> <br />"It was detected in September 2006 using ground-based telescopes and NASA's Chandra X-ray space observatory."<br /><br />http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070507_brighest_sn.html<br />

 

[weeman]

<font color="yellow"> "The explosion would be visible in the daylight and at night you would be able to read a book by its light." </font><br /><br />That pretty much answers my question that I posted a while back in another thread. I was curious how much the light from a nearby supernova would affect our night time here on Earth.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

If it ever happens to Eta Carinae, I'll be booking a trip to the Southern Hemisphere right away!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

logicize:<br />I wonder why they waited so long to release this.<br /><br />Me:<br />Probably because they had data rather than imagery. The image that accompanies the article is an artist conception. I didn't see any actual images associated with this event so far. So if its data in the form of whatever X-ray data takes, it also takes time to interpret the data, have it confirmed by peers, then release it to the general public.<br /><br />Same happens with the discovery of exoplanets. They have to see if the data is repeatable in a pattern indicative of a planet orbiting a star. Have the data confirmed by independant peer review, then release to the public. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[weeman]

I would have to do the same, Wayne. It would be a spectacle that I would not want to miss! I've never been to the Southern Hemisphere anyways <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000">Techies: We do it in the dark. </font></strong></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>"Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.</strong><strong>" -Albert Einstein </strong></font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Since the galaxy it occurred in is 240 million light years away, I suspect any images would look like a bright pixel <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[pyoko]

I don't think we were talking about the one 250 mil ly away, Wayne. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="color:#ff9900" class="Apple-style-span">-pyoko</span> <span style="color:#333333" class="Apple-style-span">the</span> <span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span">duck </span></p><p><span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color:#808080;font-style:italic" class="Apple-style-span">It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.</span></span></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Actually there's two interwined subjects. I was replying to qso1 who was answering logicize's question as to why it took so long to release it. That did refer to the one 240 million LY away. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

MeteorWayne:<br />Since the galaxy it occurred in is 240 million light years away, I suspect any images would look like a bright pixel<br /><br />Me:<br />Thats about what I would expect. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Regarding the brightest supernova ever, it's today's APOD <br /><br />I'll add a permanent link when it's tomorrow.<br /><br />IS this now? No it's then. When will it be now? NOW! <br /><br />Edit: This is the permanent link SN 2006GY: Brightest Supernova <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Thats also the first actual image (As opposed to artist concept) I have seen of this event. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

The link is no longer yesterday's at it is today's, but tomorrow's will be today's tomorrow. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[saurc]

there hasn't been any supernovae in our galaxy since the invention of the telescope I think . Now it would be great to have a GIANT supernova

 

[derekmcd]

Considering they estimate 1-3 per century on average, we are way overdue. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>