News Deadly Gamma Ray Burst headed our way from Rogue star , Could wipe out 1/4 of our ozo - Page 4

Hog's Gone Fishin · 06-03-2013, 05:32 PM

Potentially lethal gamma-ray burst from star WR 104 could reach earth
Published May 28, 2013

Earth may lie in the path of a dangerous gamma-ray burst that could wipe out a quarter of our atmospheric ozone.

Astronomers say WR 104, a Wolf-Rayet star about 8,000 light years away, could go supernova any day, which would generate gamma-rays that could reach earth.

'You would first notice a 10-second blue flash in the upper atmosphere, but then the damage would be done.'
- University of Kansas physicist Adrian Melott

"We could see it go supernova anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now," astronomer Grant Hill told Forbes. "For all intents and purposes, the gamma-ray burst and optical photons from the supernova would arrive simultaneously."Gamma-ray bursts are triggered by supernovae, or exploding stars.

There has been much debate over whether a gamma-ray burst from WR 104 would reach earth, but Dr Hill said it depended on the star's rotation.

"If you look at WR 104 and the image of its pinwheel, it really is a visceral and powerful argument that the thing is face on with an inclination of zero," Dr Hill said. This would mean earth was directly in the line of fire from the star.

University of Kansas physicist Adrian Melott told Forbes such a gamma-ray burst would cause a 50 percent increase in UVB radiation.
"You would first notice a 10-second blue flash in the upper atmosphere, but then the damage would be done," he said.

WR 104 was discovered by University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill in 1998.

We are gonna be totally toasted . I wouldn't plan on it happening in 500,000 years . You should go underground NOW !

MeatRock · 06-03-2013, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

She will be excited.

Is that Mammy Miami?

**Bugeater** · 06-03-2013, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaiderH8r

Sure glad we banned CFCs since an interstellar fart can wipe out more ozone than all the Aquanet in Jersey could ever hope to.

That was my first thought, we ****ing gave up R12 for this?

journeyscarab · 06-03-2013, 10:05 PM

Could you be more specific? "anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now"

crossbow · 06-03-2013, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

"We could see it go supernova anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now," astronomer Grant Hill told Forbes.

That is one heck of a percentage of error. Give or take 500k years.

Honestly, in 10,000 years we will have wiped ourselves out so not much to be concerned about.

T-post Tom · 06-03-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaiderH8r

Sure glad we banned CFCs since an interstellar fart can wipe out more ozone than all the Aquanet in Jersey could ever hope to.

Ban Aquanet pimps & logic haters.

UberSparky · 06-04-2013, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

Hulk worried.

First thing I thought of too! Damn comic geek.

UberSparky · 06-04-2013, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyChuckles

Can we get that Dave scientist guy in here? I don't know much about science, but how fast do gamma rays and optical photons travel? Faster than the speed of light? Cause the planet is 8,000 light years away.

Pay attention...it takes 8,000 years for the gamma rays and optical photons (light) to get to earth. 104 could have gone supernova 7,999 years ago. So tomorrow everyone dies. Get it...?

Planetman · 06-04-2013, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UberSparky

Pay attention...it takes 8,000 years for the gamma rays and optical photons (light) to get to earth. 104 could have gone supernova 7,999 years ago. So tomorrow everyone dies. Get it...?

Apparently he didn't or he wouldn't need Dave's help.

**Predarat** · 06-04-2013, 07:28 AM

So that grade 8 sun tan lotion will not work anymore if this happens, hope it can wait until after this summer, because I have a half a bottle left.

DMAC · 06-04-2013, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyChuckles

I believe it is "for all intensive purposes"

DMAC · 06-04-2013, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UberSparky

Pay attention...it takes 8,000 years for the gamma rays and optical photons (light) to get to earth. 104 could have gone supernova 7,999 years ago. So tomorrow everyone dies. Get it...?

We look into the past.

**alnorth** · 06-04-2013, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeyChuckles

I believe it is "for all intensive purposes"

No it is not. "intensive purposes" is a common malapropism. It is "for all intents and purposes" You only have to look at the words in the context of what they are supposed to mean to know which one is right and which one makes no sense at all.

Everyone who says "for all intensive purposes" is wrong.

**alnorth** · 06-04-2013, 08:21 AM

Even if we see the supernova tomorrow, the odds that we'll get hit are very, very low. Gamma Ray bursts are shot out in a line. They may think that based on its rotation its aimed right at us, but it only has to be slightly off a fraction of a degree to miss.

**gblowfish** · 06-04-2013, 08:23 AM

Oh man, I just bought two bags of charcoal and now I'm not going to need them. Bummer.

KC2004 · 06-04-2013, 08:36 AM

http://www.universetoday.com/23342/w...-us-after-all/

Early last year, concern was growing for a Wolf-Rayet star named WR 104 that appeared to be aiming right at Earth (see Looking Down the Barrel of A Gamma Ray Burst). A Wolf-Rayet star is a highly unstable star coming to the end of its life, possibly culminating in a powerful, planet-killing gamma-ray burst (GRB). GRBs are collimated beams of high energy gamma-rays, projected from the poles of a collapsing Wolf-Rayet star. It was little wonder that we were concerned when a dying Wolf-Rayet star was found to be pointing right at us! Today, at the AAS in Long Beach, one scientist working at the Keck Telescope has taken a keen interest in WR 104 and shared new findings that show our Solar System may not be bathed in deadly gamma-rays after all…

Wolf-Rayet stars are evolved massive stars undergoing a suicidal and violent death. They are very hot (up to 50,000K) and losing mass very quickly, generating powerful stellar winds (at velocities of 2000 km/s). WR 104 was imaged using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii last March, and images of the pinwheel spiral star system appeared to show that we were “looking down a rifle barrel”.

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So what is causing this spiral structure around WR 104? The star has a binary O-type star partner, so as WD 104 sheds its mass, the stellar winds spiral outward. As we are seeing the full spiral from Earth, it was therefore reasonable to assume the binary system was facing right toward us. As WR 104 probably has its pole pointing 90° from the ecliptic plane, any future GRB could be directed straight at us.

“WR 104 is a fascinating object that got a lot of press last spring,” Dr Grant Hill said during the AAS meeting today (Jan 7th). “Since the object is in our galaxy, it could be devastating [for Earth]”

Hill therefore decided to confirm previous Keck observations with spectroscopic data to find out if there could be the possibility of an Earth-directed GRB. His work confirms the system is a binary pair, orbiting each other at an 8 month period. Hill also confirmed the presence of a shock front between the stellar winds of WD 104 and O-type partner. And there is some very good news for Earth. It would appear the original Keck imagry may not have been as straight-forward as it seemed. Spectroscopic emission lines from the binary pair strongly suggest the system is in fact inclined 30°-40° (possibly as much as 45°) away from us.

So, Earth doesn’t appear to be in the firing line of WR 104 after all…

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/23342/w...#ixzz2VG4nhIHy

06-03-2013, 05:32 PM
Hog's Gone Fishin Fish are scared of me Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1790477	Deadly Gamma Ray Burst headed our way from Rogue star , Could wipe out 1/4 of our ozo Potentially lethal gamma-ray burst from star WR 104 could reach earth Published May 28, 2013 Earth may lie in the path of a dangerous gamma-ray burst that could wipe out a quarter of our atmospheric ozone. Astronomers say WR 104, a Wolf-Rayet star about 8,000 light years away, could go supernova any day, which would generate gamma-rays that could reach earth. 'You would first notice a 10-second blue flash in the upper atmosphere, but then the damage would be done.' - University of Kansas physicist Adrian Melott "We could see it go supernova anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now," astronomer Grant Hill told Forbes. "For all intents and purposes, the gamma-ray burst and optical photons from the supernova would arrive simultaneously."Gamma-ray bursts are triggered by supernovae, or exploding stars. There has been much debate over whether a gamma-ray burst from WR 104 would reach earth, but Dr Hill said it depended on the star's rotation. "If you look at WR 104 and the image of its pinwheel, it really is a visceral and powerful argument that the thing is face on with an inclination of zero," Dr Hill said. This would mean earth was directly in the line of fire from the star. University of Kansas physicist Adrian Melott told Forbes such a gamma-ray burst would cause a 50 percent increase in UVB radiation. "You would first notice a 10-second blue flash in the upper atmosphere, but then the damage would be done," he said. WR 104 was discovered by University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill in 1998. We are gonna be totally toasted . I wouldn't plan on it happening in 500,000 years . You should go underground NOW !
Posts: 40,314

06-03-2013, 10:05 PM	#48
journeyscarab SHOCKERS BABY! Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Overland Park, KS Casino cash: $3783555	Could you be more specific? "anywhere from tomorrow to 500,000 years from now"
Posts: 3,414

06-04-2013, 07:28 AM	#54
Predarat Run Chiefs fans, run!! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Casino cash: $9973863	So that grade 8 sun tan lotion will not work anymore if this happens, hope it can wait until after this summer, because I have a half a bottle left.
Posts: 10,776

06-04-2013, 08:21 AM	#58
alnorth . Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $57176239	Even if we see the supernova tomorrow, the odds that we'll get hit are very, very low. Gamma Ray bursts are shot out in a line. They may think that based on its rotation its aimed right at us, but it only has to be slightly off a fraction of a degree to miss. __________________ how many emo kids does it take to change a lightbulb? HOW MANY?! none they just sit in the dark and cry
Posts: 36,130

06-04-2013, 08:23 AM	#59
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	Oh man, I just bought two bags of charcoal and now I'm not going to need them. Bummer.
Posts: 40,830

06-04-2013, 08:36 AM	#60
KC2004 I'm with stupid ^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Small town, Missouri Casino cash: $9927400	http://www.universetoday.com/23342/w...-us-after-all/ Early last year, concern was growing for a Wolf-Rayet star named WR 104 that appeared to be aiming right at Earth (see Looking Down the Barrel of A Gamma Ray Burst). A Wolf-Rayet star is a highly unstable star coming to the end of its life, possibly culminating in a powerful, planet-killing gamma-ray burst (GRB). GRBs are collimated beams of high energy gamma-rays, projected from the poles of a collapsing Wolf-Rayet star. It was little wonder that we were concerned when a dying Wolf-Rayet star was found to be pointing right at us! Today, at the AAS in Long Beach, one scientist working at the Keck Telescope has taken a keen interest in WR 104 and shared new findings that show our Solar System may not be bathed in deadly gamma-rays after all… Wolf-Rayet stars are evolved massive stars undergoing a suicidal and violent death. They are very hot (up to 50,000K) and losing mass very quickly, generating powerful stellar winds (at velocities of 2000 km/s). WR 104 was imaged using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii last March, and images of the pinwheel spiral star system appeared to show that we were “looking down a rifle barrel”. Remove this ad So what is causing this spiral structure around WR 104? The star has a binary O-type star partner, so as WD 104 sheds its mass, the stellar winds spiral outward. As we are seeing the full spiral from Earth, it was therefore reasonable to assume the binary system was facing right toward us. As WR 104 probably has its pole pointing 90° from the ecliptic plane, any future GRB could be directed straight at us. “WR 104 is a fascinating object that got a lot of press last spring,” Dr Grant Hill said during the AAS meeting today (Jan 7th). “Since the object is in our galaxy, it could be devastating [for Earth]” Hill therefore decided to confirm previous Keck observations with spectroscopic data to find out if there could be the possibility of an Earth-directed GRB. His work confirms the system is a binary pair, orbiting each other at an 8 month period. Hill also confirmed the presence of a shock front between the stellar winds of WD 104 and O-type partner. And there is some very good news for Earth. It would appear the original Keck imagry may not have been as straight-forward as it seemed. Spectroscopic emission lines from the binary pair strongly suggest the system is in fact inclined 30°-40° (possibly as much as 45°) away from us. So, Earth doesn’t appear to be in the firing line of WR 104 after all… Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/23342/w...#ixzz2VG4nhIHy
Posts: 2,896