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Huge gamma-ray blast spotted 12.2 bln light-years from earth

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posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 02:50 PM
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one interesting question I have is this.... If light is now reaching us from 12 billion years ago and the early universe was very violent.... Shouldn't we expect to see more of these types of things from even longer ago?



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 03:14 PM
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reply to post by ExistenceUnknown
 


Ding! Ding! Ding!

Yes! existence, you win a prize.

Thing is, fortunately for us, these really big G-ray bursts weren't all that common. Of course, siince they happened so long ago, there was no threat to life anyway.

Puzzling things.......maybe there's an astronomer out there who can tell us, what actually CAUSES these bursts? The docu I saw was a little vague....or I missed it.

One idea I have is....as a very massive star collapses.....and, I mean BIG, to create a 'Black Hole', one final event could be a burst of gamma.

Gamma is pretty high up there on the EM spectrum. Above "X-rays" if I'm not mistaken.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 03:19 PM
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reply to post by ExistenceUnknown
 


GREAT, thanks EU!!

It boggles the mind. Our galaxy, about 100,000,000,000 stars. That's, estimated, 100 Billiion. One Galaxy, 100 Billion stars.

But wait! There's more!

ANOTHER 100 Billion Galaxies out there, as well.

So far away, though....just too big to imagine, let alone comprehend.

But, we try, nonetheless.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 03:51 PM
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Aren't magnetar's responsible for these gamma ray type bursts?

second line



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 04:31 PM
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Originally posted by space cadet
These gamma ray bursts are best veiwed from as far away as possible, given their deadly nature.




hahaha I hate to post a one liner, but when i read that line I actually chuckled out loud



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 04:43 PM
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reply to post by ExistenceUnknown
 


What is a 'magnetar'???

A star is the ultimate collection of hydrogen molecules, swirling around, collecting through the collective gravitional attraction. Given time, and pressure from the gravity.....the Hydrogen is 'fused' into Helium.....and, fusion continues, as pressures and temperatures increase.

We owe our entire Periodic Table to the stars that were formed, and exploded.....over and over again, long before the first Human ever took its breath.

Magnetism is a part of the EM Spectrum, I believe. It is WAY below, way beyond what we can 'see'....it is a long wave, not a short wave.....compared to 'gamma', which is very short-wave, in the EM spectrum.

Radio, micro-waves, etc....are way down the specturm, below infrared....which we cannot see....we start to see just above infrared.....and that IS the color we call 'red'.....



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 04:48 PM
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That must have been one hell of an enchilada dinner that God ate.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 04:58 PM
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Originally posted by ExistenceUnknown
one interesting question I have is this.... If light is now reaching us from 12 billion years ago and the early universe was very violent.... Shouldn't we expect to see more of these types of things from even longer ago?


What came to my mind on reading that question (great question, by the way!) - perhaps these events have been happening all along, but the technology to see and positively identify has only just lately come about. When I say "lately" as compared to a span of 12 billion years, the few years that technology has really advanced is but the tiniest fraction of one drop in the bucket.

For instance, say the formation of the universe happened really quickly like over a span of 300 years, and now you have "aftershocks" in the form of GRBs that occur once every so often like strikes of lightning in a storm. If we are seeing one such aftershock 12 billion light years away that occurred 12 billion years ago, perhaps a "regular" interval for an aftershock would be, say, once every 22,000 years (totally made up number). But 22,000 years ago we had no technology for identifying GRBs.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 05:15 PM
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reply to post by sos37
 


Interesting 'theory', sos.....just not supported by science, nor math.

Actually, I wouldn't even classify this notion as a 'theory'.....because, to be termed a 'theory' requires a great deal of supporting evidence first.

BEFORE the 'theory' comes the 'hypothesis'.....before the 'hypothesis' comes the 'idea'.....



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 06:27 PM
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reply to post by johnsky
 



Space is not a void. Albert Einstein addressed this misconception. Space and time are cooperative. If you pull at time in one direction, space is affected, and vice versa.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 08:19 PM
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reply to post by weedwhacker
 


Best thing I can do to explain magnetars is to quote from Wikipedia:

"A magnetar is a neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma-rays"

"On 27 December, 2004, a burst of gamma rays arrived in our solar system from SGR 1806-20. The burst was so powerful that it had effects on Earth's atmosphere, at a range of over 50,000 light years."

The above was also thought to be caused by a Magnetar.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 09:57 PM
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reply to post by ExistenceUnknown
 


Again....a 'Neutron' star....meaning, an object, once a 'star' that was extremely massive, burned its fuel, and collapsed...not QUITE making it into a 'black hole', but still a 'neutron' density.....where, as the saying goes, a teaspoon of its material would weigh as much as the entire Earth.

First of all....you'd never get a teaspoon there....and secondly...seen it, heard it many times.

In any event, ANY star, as it collapses, will increase its rotational speed....(imagine a figure skater....arms outstretched, she rotates slower than when she pulls her arms in....it is called "angular momentum")

Works the same way with stars, as they contract....

A 'pulsar' is a very compact, failed star, rapidly rotating....and WE happen to see it because its plane of rotation intersects with our eyesight....many other rapidly rotating dead stars may be out there, but we can't see 'em, from our angle.

These events, in any case, so far out-vamp a Human's lifespan....it's like explaining calculus to a butterfly.

Enjoy life, realize it's short....and know that it matters.



posted on Feb, 20 2009 @ 11:15 PM
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reply to post by YouAreDreaming
 


Well, from what I have read and seen on I belive the Discovery channel, the universe as we know it is expanding and actually accelerating due to what scientists believe is a battle between dark energy and dark matter.



posted on Feb, 22 2009 @ 04:00 AM
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Whats that thing at the bottom center of the picture looks weird







 
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