Lethal gamma-ray burst from star WR 104 could reach earth - Polidicks

[QUOTE=VOSK;40809133]8000 light years away? I'll be long dead by the time that hits.[/QUOTE] It could have gone supernova 7999 years ago.

[QUOTE=BreenIsALie;40836765]On the scale of several billion, yes The sun is expected to become a red giant in 5.4 billion[/QUOTE] On a scale of the size of the universe, it could start anywhere or hit anywhere in the next second

[QUOTE=Take_Opal;40835495]It's super dumb to worry about things you have absolutely no control over. They're gonna happen if they're gonna happen. It sucks, but there's no use in freaking out over it. Like the OP said IF it were to hit us, it would be anywhere in that ridiculous time-frame. If the vacuum metastability theory proves itself true: who gives a shit - you're dead and you will never know if your universe suddenly shifted stability killing you and everything. It'd be like if someone walked up behind you and shot you with the fastest and most unassuming gun in the world. You wouldn't know and you wouldn't care. [editline]29th May 2013[/editline] I don't understand why this thread keeps on being bumped.[/QUOTE] Maybe because I'd rather not die I don't know about you but it's really not the pain that worries me. I just don't want to actually die. [editline]30th May 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=TheDecryptor;40835414][IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Higgs_mass_metastability.png[/IMG] They say it's too early to tell for certain, but I'm already building my bunker.[/QUOTE] by the way only the largest ellipse is accurate. The smaller two are just scales of the accuracy of the other two colliders should they do future experiments into this [editline]30th May 2013[/editline] [url]http://www.sns.ias.edu/pitp2/2011files/PhysRevD.21.3305.pdf[/url] my brain the last line is pretty amazing "we don't know shit bout gravity"

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;40809469]There's a million and one ways the universe could wipe us out at any moment without us being able to do a damn thing. Best thing is just not to think about it. Google [b]"vacuum metastability event."[/b] Nature is a dick.[/QUOTE] what's the point of even existing

Oh that would explain why skeletons are outside my window Huh Wow [editline]31st May 2013[/editline] Christ take that back, I'm a skeleton to. That explains so much. I should read SH more often

[QUOTE=shrektheturd2;40848662]what's the point of even existing[/QUOTE] Existence is pretty awesome.

what's the big deal go to the part of the planet where it's daytime and then the star magic won't hit you plus why wouldnt you want to be hit with gamma rays, you could get to be the hulk, seriously

Caring about a star shooting me with gamma rays, any time between now and 500,000 years from now is just as ridiculous as caring about Yellowstone erupting and raining ash on my house, any time between now and 2000 years from now. Considering a meteor could come shooting through my roof and kill me as I type this, I really don't see why I should care.. Interesting to know, I suppose. But extremely irrelevant.

[QUOTE=shrektheturd2;40848662]what's the point of even existing[/QUOTE] Passes the time

Everyone panic!

[QUOTE=gman003-main;40809227]It's more of that it's harder to block. Alpha radiation can be stopped by a pane of glass or thick paper. Beta radiation can be stopped by a brick wall or a few inches of metal. Gamma radiation, depending on strength, typically requires several feet of lead or an even larger amount of rock or dirt, just for man-made sources like nuclear reactors or bombs. The problem is one of scale - a supernova produces a HUGE burst of gamma radiation, focused into narrow cones. Normally we're safe because the ones that hit us are billions of light years away, and they've dissipated enough that they need telescopes to see them. But 8000LY away? The burst would only last seconds, but it would kill everything on the side of the planet facing it. The other half would be shielded by the Earth's mass (6000km of dirt is enough to shield even from a supernova's GRB). But the atmosphere, particularly the ozone layer, would be devastated as well. I won't diminish it - it's a potential apocalypse, as in "reset to the Precambrian period". But it's also fairly unlikely - even if it does go supernova, it's not guaranteed to produce a large gamma ray burst. And, while it seemed to be rotating in a way that a potential GRB *would* hit the Earth, later observations suggest it may be pointed safely away from us ([url=http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/gamma-ray-wolf-rayet.htm]citation[/url]).[/QUOTE] where did you get few feet of lead? a supernovas GRB will never reach the surface, it'll destroy the ozone layer and the stratosphere which is what will cause mass extinctions and death from our own sun's rays. The people on the ground will get a bit of radiation exposure, enough for long-term damage but not instant vaporization mega death. [editline]31st May 2013[/editline] maybe we could nudge the moon to change its orbit slightly so it gets in the way of the GRB or we might be on the other side of the sun when it hits

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;40849702]Existence is pretty awesome.[/QUOTE] You don't even know what you're talking about.

[QUOTE=Karsten600;40852328]You don't even know what you're talking about.[/QUOTE] Actually, I happen to be an authority on existing. [editline]31st May 2013[/editline] I have over two decades of experience in the field.

[QUOTE=tharmas;40809777]For the sake of sanity: [url]http://www.universetoday.com/23342/wr-104-wont-kill-us-after-all/[/url] "It would appear the original Keck imagery 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°) [B]away[/B] from us." All still speculation, but it's nice to think, anyway.[/QUOTE] Just noticed but that article is from 2009 and the one OP posted is 2013 After some googling it seems that this whole thing has been known since 2009(or before that) so why is it being reported now? Although it makes me feel a bit more safe since it's been known since 2009 and it hasn't happened or anything..