Is this the real death star ?

Submitted by Stance, Verminator: The earth may be in the firing line when one of the sky's most beautiful objects explodes, a Sydney astronomy expert claims. University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill discovered the elegant rotating pinwheel system, named WR104, eight years ago in the constellation Sagittarius.

It includes a highly unstable star known as a Wolf-Rayet, widely regarded by astronomers as ticking bombs - the last stop in a star's life before a cataclysmic supernova explosion.

View: Full Article | Source: News.com.au

duh, duh ,duh, december 21st 2012

Woah. This is pretty creepy. I hope that someone/something will do something to like shield the earth if possible.

This is very interesting. However, I feel the article is SLIGHTLY misleading, perhaps to evoke more interest. They leave out this statement taken from the article linked to the linked article (if that doesn't make sense then here):

For a star such as WR 104, the fuse is now very short (to an astronomer) and it may explode any time within the next few hundred thousand years.

The fuse is short to an astronomer, translating to a within few hundred thousand years...

So as for December 21, 2012... I'll keep saving for retirement (yes I already am).

Submitted by Stance, Verminator: The earth may be in the firing line when one of the sky's most beautiful objects explodes, a Sydney astronomy expert claims. University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill discovered the elegant rotating pinwheel system, named WR104, eight years ago in the constellation Sagittarius. It includes a highly unstable star known as a Wolf-Rayet, widely regarded by astronomers as ticking bombs - the last stop in a star's life before a cataclysmic supernova explosion. "When it finally explodes as a supernova, it could emit an intense beam of gamma rays coming our way", says Dr Tuthill, whose work is published in the latest edition of the Astrophysical Journal. In the article Dr Tuthill reveals stunning new images of WR 104 taken with the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, showing a glowing plume of hot dust and gas flung out into a whirling spiral as the two stars at the centre of the system orbit one another every eight months. But something odd about the images caught the attention of Dr Tuthill and his team: "Viewed from Earth, the rotating tail appears to be laid out on the sky in an almost perfect spiral. It could only appear like that if we are looking nearly exactly down on the axis of the binary system." Dr Tuthill and his team worry this box-seat view might put us in the firing line when the system finally explodes. "Sometimes, supernovae like the one that will one day destroy WR104, focus their energy into a narrow beam of very destructive gamma-ray radiation along the axis of the system. If such a `gamma-ray burst' happens, we really do not want Earth to be in the way.

" warns Dr Tuthill. At only 8000 light years distance, WR104 is just down the road in galactic terms, only ¼ of the way to the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy. "Earlier research has suggested that a gamma-ray burst - if we are unfortunate enough to be caught in the beam - could be harmful to life on Earth out to these distances. Scientists have speculated that, eons ago, a gamma-ray burst from a distant star could explain mass extinctions seen in the fossil record," he said.

View: Full Article | Source: News.com.au

We our selves as “Intellectual” lol, beings upon this planet will have succumbed and drowned in our own made mire of Toxic rubbish and waists as is now happening worldwide, even in our Beloved Pristine Paradise Island Chain of Hawaii, and God don’t even get me thinking about India and China, And Mother Russia’s spewing acrid toxic mess let alone the US’s and Britons, (although I do see far more Echo Environmental recovery being applied and developed in European Nations then here in USA) way before a Gama ray Burst fries us up and scrambles our thoughts (Hay watch it! I know what you’re thinking, don’t even say it here! : ) , at least from a Imploding-Exploding Supernova Event from a Failing Star 8,000 light years away, and I am not meaning to be more dismal foreboding here in my say over the author's’ "Someday Possible Gama Ray Direct Hit", but come on now, Mankind is doing our own species and all living spices in at a far more faster rate, and we will be long gone as the Earth's out of control Bio plague called Mankind. That’s just my own opinion however and sorry for the Dank Rain cloud in tone as my reply here interjected. And hay there is always the good old Aluminum foil Head Caps to keep us safe from Gama Rays and Solar radiation. Pavot

Woah. This is pretty creepy. I hope that someone/something will do something to like shield the earth if possible.

Do not be afraid my friend, for we have the Aluminum Foil Head caps! And they can be recycled when the Gama Ray Event has passed us on by... Pavot

Cooool! Gamma Rays made the FF fantastic!! I'm Johnny Storm...I'm Johnny Storm!!!!!!!

Cooool! Gamma Rays made the FF fantastic!! I'm Johnny Storm...I'm Johnny Storm!!!!!!!

Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Death Star

(couldn't resist, the head line was just begging for a gratuitous Star Wars quote)

*Old timey music in background* Hello, boys and girls. In the event of a supernova explosion aimed at Earth, do you know what to do? That's right! Duck and cover. Remember these two simple steps and you'll be tap dancing the next day..... Seriously though, a situation like that could really suck but I can't see any way to prevent it or protect against it. At least with our present technology.

And one more wisecrack on this one.. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, this b******'s gonna blow, so flee we must!

When I saw the title I thought someone was watching too many Star Wars movies.

Why is it that anything that posses a natural threat to us or the planet have titles with Death, Super, Massive in it when it makes it to the news recently?

An example of this would the Super Quake that is at some point going to hit the northern west coast of North America. Its A Sub-duction zone Quake! After the tsunami that hit in 2004, I remember hearing and seeing a lot in the media about a Super Tsunami. They were talking about what happened back in 1964 in Alaska and what would happen on the Atlantic coast if La Palma, in the Canary Islands were to collapse. Now we have a DEATH STAR on our door step.

Cooool! Gamma Rays made the FF fantastic!! I'm Johnny Storm...I'm Johnny Storm!!!!!!!

LOL

Yay theres a dieing star in my birth sign!! I always wanted one. Oh to die by the star thats in the very constellation you were born under.

duh, duh ,duh, december 21st 2012

Eh, no, since the Maya predicted that the Earth will be shattered by earthquakes, not pelted with radiation. Which they'd never heard of, anyway.

ROFLMAO and a whole slew of acronyms at 'duck and cover'

Pretty cool,but augh!Those colors burn my retnas!@@