Exploding Star: New Supernova Discovery Is Closest in Years

This has me alarmed and I hope I am very wrong about this. First Here is the link to what I will be talking about here.

I am currently reading a great book by Schoch Ph.D., Robert M, Called, Forgotten Civilization: The Role of Solar Outbursts in Our Past and Future. Now if this Supernova exploded and it is as close as they say it is that you could possible see it through a pair of binoculars then that really scares me. Even before reading his book I new that the Solar System and all of the Galaxies in the Universe are moving away from each other and or also be influenced by gravitational pulls.

So my question here is, do we have anything to worry about here?

Thanks for any input.

reply to post by Stari


So the galaxy is 12 million light years away....it blows my mind to think that this event happened 12 million years ago and we're just seeing it now.

reply to post by LightAssassin


I am not sure of that, if it happened that long ago or not. I know Einstein thought that no one could break the sound barrier and it happened. So anything is possible. Like when he also said we couldn't break the light barrier. Maybe he was wrong about that as well... Don't get me wrong I believe he was so intelligent. But science has grown since his time and I guess time will tell.

Yes, it happened 12 million years ago. Speed of light is a constant.

Not sure if there will be any danger from cosmic rays from the explosion though.
Phage would be the one to ask there.

This was posted earlier also.

reply to post by shaneslaughta


Doesn't Stars have radiation? If it goes supernova then that would be springing outward that radiation. That is my thought about it. Perhaps I am wrong. But I would really like someone here to make it make sense that I am wrong.

Stari
reply to post by shaneslaughta

 

Doesn't Stars have radiation? If it goes supernova then that would be springing outward that radiation. That is my thought about it. Perhaps I am wrong. But I would really like someone here to make it make sense that I am wrong.

The way i understand it there is some radiation. The heliosphere of our sun should protect us from the cosmic rays emitted by the nova.
It is also a long way for radiation to travel, being less energetic than light is.

Cool story but it seems inaccurate there was a super nova in 2011 that was visible with the naked eye so inwould think this one would not cause us any problems here is a link about the one in 2011
scienceblogs.com...

reply to post by Stari


Don't worry, there really is nothing to worry about. Just a pretty light show 12 million years in transit.

It literally blows my mind (I guess almost literally) to think that we can watch something occur that is NEW to us, yet is over 12 million years old. That is just breathtaking if you think about it. The universe is an amazing place and that fact is reaffirmed all the time. It kind of makes you think "Life is sorta really awesome".

Large Supernovae cast dangerous Gamma-Ray Bursts. Our atmosphere can't protect us from GRB that happens nearby. It literally fries up the atmosphere. They are very short time events and sweep the space like lighthouses. GRB happens when rapidly rotating star turns into supernova or hypernova and collapses into black hole, quark star or neutron star. They can last from milliseconds to few minutes, after that there is "afterglow" which is longer amplitude radiation like X-Rays.

Scientists haven't yet detected GRB in our own galaxy, Milky way. They all occur in far away galaxies. If such event would happen in Milky Way and targeted at Earth, results would be devastating. It has been suggested that "Ordovician–Silurian extinction event", second largest extinction event on Earth was caused by GRB.

Longer term GRB would cause reaction in our atmosphere, where oxygen and nitrogen combine into nitrogen oxide, then nitrogen dioxide. That would create photochemical smog. That would greatly decrease the sunlight, causing cosmic winter (also known as nuclear winter). And that would degenerate ozone layer, causing more cosmic radiation.

But only very massive stars can cause these.

shaneslaughta
Yes, it happened 12 million years ago. Speed of light is a constant.

Not sure if there will be any danger from cosmic rays from the explosion though.
Phage would be the one to ask there.

This was posted earlier also.

edit on 1/22/2014 by shaneslaughta because: (no reason given)

I know this is way out there and someone will likely be able to debunk it quickly, but couldn't this be the third, fourth, tenth, etc trip around the universe for this particular outburst, putting the original event much closer or much further away?. Not really sure if that is possible, but I don't think it is impossible. If the universe is a sphere, another supposition, then wouldn't the light eventually came back to the place it originated?

Anyways I don't put much credence in the numbers they come up with in regard to light speed distances away. To much possibility for major errors in decay and incorrect assumptions on original magnitude.

A supernova 12 million light years away is no reason for concern. If it was say close to 100 light years away, then it would be something to really worry about. One of the most recent close supernova is now The Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova SN 1054, visible all over the world and recorded by the Chinese in the year 1054, is over 6,500 light years away and was seen as a bright star in the daytime.

reply to post by sligtlyskeptical


Aim a flashlight to a black piece of paper in the dark, do the same to a white sheet of paper.
The black wont reflect the light but absorb it.

Ok, well thank you everyone for clearing that up for me. I was really worried for a minute or so thinking that the radiation could make here and ruins our ionosphere. I am very glad that it is too far to accomplish that. I do wish though that NASA never stopped human exploration into space. We would be so much farther now if they kept on going. I guess this conversation is for another thread. But you don't wish to get me going on that one. It wouldn't be pretty

Stari

shaneslaughta
reply to post by sligtlyskeptical

 

Aim a flashlight to a black piece of paper in the dark, do the same to a white sheet of paper.
The black wont reflect the light but absorb it.

Take that same experiment , using a very high power strobe light, the kind used in professional photography.

Take a 1 inch square of white and black light paper, and fold them into a 45 deg. angle so they can stand upright on a flat surface. Put them next to each other and hold the strobe light about 12 inches away from them, facing the folded upright papers. Flash the strobe, and the white paper will most likely move or topple over. The black paper stands.

To me initially , this is an observational conundrum, because the black paper has absorbed the energy of the strobe blast, but remains still. It would seem to me that by absorbing so much more of the energy, that it would be the one to fall. The white paper reflects the energy and is the one to topple. Now, chime in ATS for the reason that what we see has a firm scientific foundation.






C'mon dudes, it is 1AM in Boston, and I know some of you can answer this before the MIT and Harvard profs have a field day with it come 8:00 AM. Show them that ATS can serve them their lunch before they have their breakfast.

Next could possibly be Eta Carinae (η Carinae) in Carina constellation. Its very likely that it will go Supernova or Hypernova in less than 1 million years. It could happen today, next week, next year, you name it. And its uncomfortably close, only 7 500 to 8 000 light years away. Its not actually single star, its stellar system, with 2 or more stars. The most luminous star (Luminous Blue Variable, LBV), is about 150 solar masses, and has already lost 30 solar masses. It has Red Supergiant as company, which is about 30 solar masses. The nebula around the stars is so thick that the Red Supergiant is mostly concealed.

It was discovered in 1677 as 4th magnitude star (visible in Southern Hemisphere), but in 1730 it was noticed that it was brightened considerably. It was categorized as 2nd magnitude star, but in 1782 it was returned as 4th magnitude as it was dimmer than before. In 1843 it was brighter than ever before, its brightness was more than tenfolded from before, with magnitude of -0,8. It was second brightest star in night sky after Sirius.

Sometimes Eta Carinae has strong outbursts, latest in 1841. Between 1900 and 1940 the star was 8th magnitude, invisible to human eye. In 1998 and 1999 it was very bright again, when it was 2 times brighter than before. In 2007 it was again visible to naked eye, as 5th magnitude star.

Its age is completely unknown, so its impossible to predict when it might go supernova, but its acting like something is going on. If it goes Supernova or Hypernova, it would have some effects on Earth. Atmosphere would likely to protect us from Gamma Rays, but they might fry the ozone layer, leading to increased UV-radiation. It would damage the satellites and people on ISS would get lethal doses of radiation. We are safe from deadly Gamma-Ray Bursts as they come from Star's poles and its rotational axis doesn't point to our Solar system.

At least one scientist has said that Supernova would be so bright that it would be visible during the day and you could read newspaper in its light during the night.

reply to post by Thebel


Omgoodness, I am scared again YIKES, well I will try to look south next time I am out at night, which is not usual if I am it is facing west. Nice sunsets here.

But thank you all for all of this input. I have alot more to explore and read on this subject because it seems to me that the only way out of this mess is to be able to travel through space when ever you want to. That is not going to happen for everyone. So I say children and scientist first. Then if there is room the mothers of the children and if there is more room the fathers of the children as long as the parents are married.

Ok, I am just going on on about nothing you would be interested in. Thanks again all.

Stari