http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8382348.stm
Herschel telescope 'fingerprints' colossal star
The death throes of the biggest star known to science have been observed by Europe's new space telescope, Herschel.
The observatory, launched in May, has subjected VY Canis Majoris, to a detailed spectroscopic analysis.
It has allowed Herschel to identify the different types of molecules and atoms that swirl away from the star which is 30-40 times as massive as our Sun.
VY Canis Majoris is some 4,500 light-years from Earth and could explode as a supernova at any time.
It is colossal. If VY Canis Majoris were sited at the centre of our Solar System, its surface would extend to the orbit of Saturn.
(follow link to full story)
Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
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FBM
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Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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eversbane
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Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
Meaning it likely already has some time around but slightly less than 4,500 years ago, but we haven't seen it yet. When we do see it... There goes the neighborhood?FBM wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8382348.stm
Herschel telescope 'fingerprints' colossal star
The death throes of the biggest star known to science have been observed by Europe's new space telescope, Herschel.
The observatory, launched in May, has subjected VY Canis Majoris, to a detailed spectroscopic analysis.
It has allowed Herschel to identify the different types of molecules and atoms that swirl away from the star which is 30-40 times as massive as our Sun.
VY Canis Majoris is some 4,500 light-years from Earth and could explode as a supernova at any time.
It is colossal. If VY Canis Majoris were sited at the centre of our Solar System, its surface would extend to the orbit of Saturn.
(follow link to full story)
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."
- Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant. 1933.
- Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant. 1933.
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Faithfree
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Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
You certainly wouldn't want to be living in the next solar system.eversbane wrote: Meaning it likely already has some time around but slightly less than 4,500 years ago, but we haven't seen it yet. When we do see it... There goes the neighborhood?
Although it may look like a forum, this site is actually a crowd-sourced science project modelling the slow but inexorable heat death of the universe.
Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
OMG That star's power level is OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!Faithfree wrote:You certainly wouldn't want to be living in the next solar system.eversbane wrote: Meaning it likely already has some time around but slightly less than 4,500 years ago, but we haven't seen it yet. When we do see it... There goes the neighborhood?
Nobody expects me...
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FBM
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Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
Yeah, but what's its armor class?andrewclunn wrote:OMG That star's power level is OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!Faithfree wrote:You certainly wouldn't want to be living in the next solar system.eversbane wrote: Meaning it likely already has some time around but slightly less than 4,500 years ago, but we haven't seen it yet. When we do see it... There goes the neighborhood?
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
-
eversbane
- Posts: 61
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- About me: I find that even at 50 years old I am still telling stories about my dad. It is my hope as a father that my children will remember me as fondly.
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- Contact:
Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
Screw that!! What's our armor class?!FBM wrote:Yeah, but what's its armor class?andrewclunn wrote:OMG That star's power level is OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!Faithfree wrote:You certainly wouldn't want to be living in the next solar system.eversbane wrote: Meaning it likely already has some time around but slightly less than 4,500 years ago, but we haven't seen it yet. When we do see it... There goes the neighborhood?
At 4,500 light years... are we not "the next solar system?" At least one of... I mean, 4,500 isn't a very big number.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."
- Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant. 1933.
- Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant. 1933.
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AshtonBlack
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Re: Star? That's not a star. Now THIS is a star...
2012.... tellin' ya.
10 Fuck Off
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Ashton Black wrote:"Dogma is the enemy, not religion, per se. Rationality, genuine empathy and intellectual integrity are anathema to dogma."
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