'Death Star' Poised for Supernova Detonation Aimed at Earth?

Eta Carinae is poited at least 45 degrees from earth.When we are able to see it go supernova it will be a wonderful light show but, no harm to us.
www.livescience.com...
The current findings for the solar cycle are they believe since we are now in a deep minimum that the next cycle 24 will proably peak in 2013 and be weaker then what was first thought.
www.universetoday.com...

reply to post by Phage


Well, as you know....a GRB from 8,000 LY away....eh!! This only assumes that the offending Star - in - Question is still aiming at us...

Not really on ON-Topic....but relevant....SO many people on ATS seem to mis-understand the basics of astronomy and astrophysics....

8,000 LY is like, compared to your trip to Grandma's.....it's as if you visited an entirely different Galaxy.....about 4,000,000 LY away....THAT is how you can describe the trip, in the car from the airport to the 'house'....

and you have to be nice to 'grandma', and eat her sweet potatoes......

OK. a little humour...

But, it is a relevant point! The fact of a potential GRB from 8,000 LY away....you might just as well cross a busy street against the red light!

Your odds of survivable are better if you just stay home, and don't try to cross that street!!

reply to post by weedwhacker

Nicely fielded, Wackist.

I calculate that if she's blowing her top right now, we should be safely out of the way by about... oh, about 2012.

reply to post by weedwhacker


I'm certainly no astronomy expert, but I've been trying to remedy that. I was just reading something the other day about supernovae, and an astomoner was quoted as saying that in order for a supernova explosion to kill you, you'd have to be "ridicuously close". By "ridiculously close" he meant within 10 light-years.

I'm not jumping on the doomsday wagon here, just pointing out that there is a possible concern. In any event, I should think if it blows it will be one of those rare supernova visiible with the naked eye.

This is pretty interesting and being that we can't see everything in the universe, their could and probably is a few more stars on their end of the main cycle that may be pointing towards us. Then again the Universe is vast and anything within' the scope of this universe is being affected by gravity pretty much everywhere.

So I'm wondering if we are even in the zone of being fired upon or if this has possibly been off that balance for some time. Then again taking into account the scope of the distance itself is their anything that in between us and the star that is on the end of it's term?

Now here's a question, lets assume the worst case scenario on WR104 and that a GRB is already on its way. I know WR104 is in sagittarius, though I don't know where exactly. Assuming it's possible, although highly unlikely, what happens if the moon occults WR104 at the moment the GRB arrives? The occultation would only cover the GRB for a certain swath of earth, probably about this size in length and width:
www.jpl.nasa.gov...
The question is, would the effects on the rest of the globe be enough to kill those in the covered zone anyway? And if not, what would those survivors see if they were to look out into the solar system at the moment of arrival? It would make for an interesting scifi plot ala Jericho imho.

[edit on 13-4-2009 by ngchunter]