Posted on 01/21/2011 1:20:10 PM PST by markomalley
I can just see some old rednecks on a planet not to far away and not knowing this is going to happen, Say here hold mah beer watch this he then bends over takes out his bic lighter...........
But it would be too bad if it meant that Orion wasn't really Orion any more.
ML/NJ
Who is the guy that was shopped in?
George Lucas.
On Firefox right click the image and select "View Image Info" to see the image's file name george_lucas_carbonite.jpg. On Internet Explorer right click and select Properties.
Solar wind!
TXS
I fit is 640 light-years away it would mean the event HAS ALREADY HAPPENED, 639 years ago.
If it is 640 light-years away it would mean the event HAS ALREADY HAPPENED, 639 years ago.
Sorry for the error.
Accompanied by real gas music from Jupiter.
It will be especially bright because the pole of Betelgeuse happens to point in Earth’s direction. That means the gamma ray jets from matter spiraling down the magnetic pole will be pointing right towards Earth too.
And got his gamma ray incarcerated?
WWMKD?
What Would Michael Keaton Do?
On the other hand, it’s probably being caused by a Vogon Contructor Fleet.
Mark
Of course.
Got to have the right mood music for a blue skinned woman.
Sorry David, I hate to break it to you, but it already happened, about 640 years ago!
Mark
To put this media hype in perspective, the closest star to earth is about 4 light years away = 23,462,784,000,000 miles. Light travels at 186,000 miles every second.
Given that Betelgeuse is thought to be about 640 light years from Earth (estimates have also ranged from 180 to 1,300), the morons in the press actually claiming we will be in for a light show when the event occurs are as clueless as we know they are.
Even though its a supergiant class star (over 1000x bigger radius than our sun, but less dense as it has multiple layers of atmosphere like environments “photospheres”), it would take centuries for the actual light from this event to be viewable from this planet. Yes, once it got here, it would outshine the moon and even be visable during daytime, but the most intense light would only last a couple weeks, and slowly dim away over a couple months.
And since its rotational axis is not pointed in Earth’s direction, when a supernova occurs, its unlikely any type of gamma ray burst would arrive and impact our eco-system (but I’m sure Hollywood is working on a script that says otherwise). The ultra-violet output from the explosion would be less than our suns.
We were having a party in 1373 that spilled into 1371 and across the hall into 1372 and 1374.
It was a pretty brutal tour and the band was just letting off a little steam. Our manager assured us that he'd take care of the damages.
This again.
God, I hope we get to see it during our lifetimes!
From what I can find on the subject the pole is some 20 degrees off from pointing towards Earth. Given the margin of error and the width of the resulting jets Earth could very well be in the line of fire.
Exactly, you are correct. The working theory is that the supernova already occurred in the year 1372 and a disturbance was observed by multiple cultures at the instant of the explosion. If you add 640 years then we arrive at 2012. I have absolutely no idea if this is true but it is most fascinating. A supernova explosion from a red supergiant star will be spectacular to see. Some speculation is that it will shine brighter than our moon, and will be approximately 4 times larger in the night sky. The duration is expected to last for several months, effectively making night brighter than day on earth. I am still unable to comprehend the magnitude of an explosion with those attributes, so I guess we shall see...
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