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Two Suns?
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» databoy replied on Fri Mar 11, 2011 @ 4:37pm |
 Coolness: 106215 | Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012
Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily. Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to [ news.com ] Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time. When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe. The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports [ news.com ] But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. If the star does go super-nova, Earth will be showered with harmless particles, according to Carter. "They will flood through the Earth and bizarrely enough, even though the supernova we see visually will light up the night sky, 99 per cent of the energy in the supernova is released in these particles that will come through our bodies and through the Earth with absolutely no harm whatsoever," he told [ news.com ] In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. According to Carter this "star stuff" makes up the universe. "It literally makes things like gold, silver - all the heavy elements - even things like uranium....a star like Betelgeuse is instantly forming for us all sorts of heavy elements and atoms that our own Earth and our own bodies have from long past supernovi," said Carter. UPDATE: To clarify, the [ news.com ] article does not say a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth, but implies a supernova could be beneficial, stating, "Far from being a sign of the apocalypse, according to Dr Carter the supernova will provide Earth with elements necessary for survival and continuity." Story continues below UPDATE II: In a follow-up piece on [ news.com ] Dr. Carter stressed that there is no way of knowing when the star may go supernova. U.S. astronomer Phil Plait added, "Betelgeuse might go up tonight, or it might not be for 100,000 years. We're just not sure." [ www.huffingtonpost.com ] |
| I'm feeling tilt right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Screwhead replied on Fri Mar 11, 2011 @ 10:38pm |
 Coolness: 685690 | got debunked as a hoax about 2h after it got posted. |
| I'm feeling like a drama magnet right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» databoy replied on Fri Mar 11, 2011 @ 10:46pm |
| Coolness: 106215 | What got debunked as a hoax? |
| I'm feeling tilt right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Screwhead replied on Fri Mar 11, 2011 @ 11:14pm |
| Coolness: 685690 | That we would see a second sun. At best we'd get a small flash of light that no one who wasn't looking for it would notice.
Before the 2nd update, it was just another 2012 freakout that gullible idiots fall into all the time. And like the first post in the comments says, the whole thing is pretty much totally factually inaccurate. Many, many factual errors in the reporting of this - and I attribute none of them to Dr. Brad Carter.
Where to beging... ok 1. "In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. According to Carter this "star stuff" makes up the universe. "It literally makes things like gold, silver - all the heavy elements" 2. A neutrino shower would not be beneficial to earth. A neutrino shower will pass through the earth like it wasnt there. It will have no effect at all. NONE. 3. Neutrinos are not the "star stuff" that makes up the universe. Where he says "it makes things like gold" etc he is referring to the supernova. Neutrinos do not make gold, or any other element. 4. Although thats in the update, the update is also wrong. None of that supernova material will ever reach earth. And if it did, it would not be beneficial. 5. It will not be nearly as bright as a "second sun" - it will be just a bright star, brighter than now, maybe as bright as the International space station flying over head, maybe a little brighter. it will NOT resemble Tatooine! 6. Update 2 takes care of the mistake in trying to hang the thing on 2012. |
| I'm feeling like a drama magnet right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» databoy replied on Fri Mar 11, 2011 @ 11:45pm |
| Coolness: 106215 | lol |
| I'm feeling tilt right now.. | |
Two Suns?
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