Real Death Star Question - 3/1 article in Astrophysical Journal

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Lothair

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<p>&nbsp;</p><p>I can find 2 constellations in the sky with the help of my second grader, no sarcasm intended.</p><p>In the aforementioned article, it states that&nbsp; a real death star located 8,000 light years away could scorch the earth or hit it with a gamma blast.&nbsp;&nbsp;It further states that such a blast&nbsp;"travels at the speed of light"..so it would have no warning.&nbsp; If it gives no warning, how do we know that it hasn't already discharged&nbsp;and is already headed towards us??</p><p>Astrophysics 101...&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
 
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MeteorWayne

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<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;I can find 2 constellations in the sky with the help of my second grader, no sarcasm intended.In the aforementioned article, it states that&nbsp; a real death star located 8,000 light years away could scorch the earth or hit it with a gamma blast.&nbsp;&nbsp;It further states that such a blast&nbsp;"travels at the speed of light"..so it would have no warning.&nbsp; If it gives no warning, how do we know that it hasn't already discharged&nbsp;and is already headed towards us??Astrophysics 101...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Posted by Lothair</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We wouldn't know until it hit.<br /></p> <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>
 
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a_lost_packet_

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<p><font size="1" color="#000080"><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;I can find 2 constellations in the sky with the help of my second grader, no sarcasm intended.In the aforementioned article, it states that&nbsp; a real death star located 8,000 light years away could scorch the earth or hit it with a gamma blast.&nbsp;&nbsp;It further states that such a blast&nbsp;"travels at the speed of light"..so it would have no warning.&nbsp; If it gives no warning, how do we know that it hasn't already discharged&nbsp;and is already headed towards us??Astrophysics 101...&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by Lothair</DIV></font></p><p>Well, at present, if I understand it correctly, the star in question is "unlikely" to be able to produce a gamma-ray burst of that type.&nbsp; That doesn't mean it can't, it only means that it doesn't represent a prime-candidate considering what is currently known.</p><p>But, if certain changes take longer than 8000 years to come to pass before that star becomes a "prime candidate" then we may know something by observing those changes.&nbsp; So, in five-hundred years, maybe we'd see a trend developing that goes hand in hand with current ideas about GRBs.&nbsp; That could be the type of "warning" we'd get.</p><p>Just assumptions on my part. I don't know the particulars about this star and its GRB candidacy.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>
 
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robnissen

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It is possible that the supernova happened 7999 years ago, and in one year the earth will be fried in gamma rays.&nbsp; What I find more interesting, is that the cosmic rays would show up shortly thereafter.&nbsp; Because cosmic rays are matter, they travel slightly less than the speed of light.&nbsp; What would be interesting is to try to calculate the exact speed and distance they traveled, such that there arrival time at earth could be computed exactly.&nbsp; If we know exactly when they would arrive, we would get as much of the earth's population as possible to the opposite side of the earth, so they would not be directly hit by these very energetic particles.&nbsp; Of course the problem is, that if the calculations were off by a mere 12 hours, most of earth's population would be moved into the killing zone, not out of it.&nbsp; I guess a bunch of scientists would have to say "My bad!"
 
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Lothair

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<p>&nbsp;</p><p>Very helpful and like the humor!</p><p>&nbsp;</p>
 
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