Galactic Superwave? Real or Not.

[com34x]

There is this guy named Dr. LaViolette who has been saying from the 80's that there is some sort of Galactic Superwave of radiation that is going to start hitting us from another galaxy anywhere from now till around 2012. Im not an expert on science so can anyone tell me if this is really something to worry about or if this is another one of those theories that scares everyone and then nothign ever happens. Rather put my mind at rest. Thanks everyone.

 

[petepan]

Do you have a link to this story?

 

[com34x]

Just put "Galactic Superwave" in the browser and you will see all sorts of links. Usually these links are more of the occult or doom day sights. I havn't seen any really legit science websites on this, although I could be honest and say that it scares me a bit. Thats why Im on here asking if it has any merit. http://www.etheric.com/LaViolette/Predict.html

 

[qso1]

I'm no expert either but if I were a gambler, I'd bet in favor of nothing extreme happening as a result of this galactic superwave. There is all sorts of radiation and radiation sources within our own galaxy. I'd be more concerned for example, that a hypernova could go off within 50 or so Ly, life on Earth could be affected drastically. However, there are no known or suspected hypernova candidates that close to us. The closest I'm aware of is Eta Carinae at 7,500 Ly away.<br /><br />As for a galactic superwave. Like any wave, seems to me that as it travels over the millions of light years between potential source galaxies, the wave would dissipate as it spreads out in all directions. <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>

 

[vogon13]

Planet dissolving chaos cloud gets here in 8 1/2 years.<br /><br />Sadly, its all true . . . . .<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[com34x]

Your being a wise guy I assume.

 

[doubletruncation]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>some sort of Galactic Superwave of radiation that is going to start hitting us from another galaxy anywhere from now till around 2012<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />How could he possibly know this, until it actually hits us? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[why06]

He can't the fastest information on an approaching superwave can only be light speed. By the time we realize its coming it would have gone. Unless he was able to predict it Ahead of time. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div>________________________________________ <br /></div><div><ul><li><font color="#008000"><em>your move...</em></font></li></ul></div> </div>

 

[why06]

If this was so life on earth would drastically change about every 10,000 years and that is only if it hit earth. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div>________________________________________ <br /></div><div><ul><li><font color="#008000"><em>your move...</em></font></li></ul></div> </div>

 

[vogon13]

It has to be true.<br /><br />It is not disputed on the Enterprise Mission website.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[dragon04]

<font color="yellow">Galactic Superwave</font><br /><br />My next paycheck says that 25,000 Southern California dudes have their boards waxed and ready.<br /><br />Cowabunga! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"2012.. Year of the Dragon!! Get on the Dragon Wagon!".</em> </div>

 

[quarkstorm]

That nutter who thinks he's found the world's largest and oldest pyramid in Bosnia also has a thing about the year 2012. I think he has it pinned down to some time in November <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> It could be an unrelated conspiracy.<br /><br />This is my first post BTW so hey.

 

[harmonicaman]

Welcome aboard!<br /><br />A few years ago we had a real "Nutter" in here who was a rabid proponent of nuclear rocket technology; unfortunately, he was banned because he didn't get along well with others...<br /><br />Currently he is causing trouble on Wikipedia in the "Project Orion" and nuclear power topic areas.<br /><br />We are always open to civil discussions about the pros and cons of nuclear rockets! <br /><br />

 

[vogon13]

Tell me about it.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[drwayne]

In fact, the user in question poked his head in here a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, impersonating other people from the web.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>There is this guy named Dr. LaViolette who has been saying from the 80's that there is some sort of Galactic Superwave of radiation that is going to start hitting us from another galaxy anywhere from now till around 2012. Im not an expert on science so can anyone tell me if this is really something to worry about or if this is another one of those theories that scares everyone and then nothign ever happens. Rather put my mind at rest. Thanks everyone.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />I don't know anything about LaViolette or exactly what he claims, but it's possible he's talking about a pressure wave in the galaxy. If so, that's actually true. Space isn't completely empty. It's as near a vacuum as makes no difference at the scale of individual humans, but if you look at sufficiently large areas, it gets significant. And of course this interstellar medium varies. It is difficult to study, because the Sun's heliosphere deflects a lot of it, protecting our solar system. But there is an exceedingly faint glow (undetectable from Earth; only Voyager 1 has ever detected it) where the heliosphere plows through the interstellar medium -- a bow shock. And some of the particles do penetrate the heliosphere; in addition to collecting comet particles, the space probe Stardust also collected some of these interstellar particles. (Hence the name of the mission.)<br /><br />It has long been speculated that the solar system was moving through a relatively sparse region, and that eventually it would enter a denser region. I have read that there are measurements indicating that we are moving into a denser region right now. Alas, I don't remember how exactly this was determined.<br /><br />What does that mean for life on Earth? Nobody's really sure. It might mean an increase in ionizing radiation, which could increase mutation rate. There is a theory that this explains the phenomenon of "punctuated equilibrium" which many p <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[quarkstorm]

re: Harmonicaman<br /><br />Yes I know Wayne. I joined his Orion board just after it had seemingly imploded upon itself with most of the members leaving. Most unfortuantly have left the Orion community altogether, but I followed a few of them to the Nuclear Rocket Board, which is the link in my sig. It's a very great pity that Wayne seems to feel the need to ram his ideas down people throats wherever he goes, because his knowledge of orion is second-to-none, indeed most of my basic knowledge of the project came from his site, which remains one of the best Orion sites on the web.<br /><br />He has apparently been active on a lot of the space boards in the last week or two. Essentially it's important to have a secure password and if you register at his board make sure you use a different password from you're other passwords.<br /><br />Hopefully I can start an orion discussion soon, but I'll browse and post a while first to get to know the board ettiquette.<br /><br />I must read up on this superwave idea, I suppose it's reasonable to assume that background radiation from space will vary with time.

 

[CalliArcale]

You're welcome to do so, but I'd recommend doing it in its own thread. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> I'd recommend using Space Business & Technology, as that forum gets the most stimulating discussion of alternate propulsion concepts. Missions & Launches would also work, but it would tend to get buried under all the active mission threads and general NASA discussion threads. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[quarkstorm]

I've done some quick checking up on this. <br /><br />There's a site by this Dr. LaViolette guy or some of his supporters here:<br />http://www.etheric.com/<br />with his predictions and supposed verification here.<br />http://www.etheric.com/LaViolette/Predict.html<br /><br />It seems to me from the front page that he bases his ideas on interpretations of ancient zodiac and other writings.<br /><br /><i> At the closing of the last ice age our ancient ancestors endured one of the most lethal global catastrophes to have occurred in the course of human history. Intelligent minds of those times thought it imperative to construct a message that would endure through time and be understood by the descendants of those who survived. Employing sophisticated cryptographic puzzle techniques similar to those modern astronomers use in designing extraterrestrial communications, they created a time capsule message that described the elusive celestial cause of this tragic disaster, alerting us that it could recur at long intervals and arrive at Earth's doorstep virtually without warning.<br /><br /> This ancient cipher is today displayed in the heavens in the form of the 12 zodiac constellations (Greek / Egyptian / Babylonian versions), its informational content having been passed down orally in the lore of astrology. Also certain esoteric keys were handed down to help unlock its message, the Sphinx being one and the Tarot being the other.<br /></i><br /><br />I don't dispute that Galactic Superwave's can occur as I've already said it's not unreasonable to assume that the amount of cosmic gamma radiation hitting the earth varies with time. And burst of gamma radiation due to events elsewhere in the galaxy may occur. But I don't see any studies of the galaxy which indicate that another such event is imminent. <br /><br />He points to certain evidence which suggests