Stars, Supernovae & Stuff!
Hey! I'm not 100% sure if this thread goes here or not. My apologies if not, but...
Is anyone here interested in astronomy? Not to be confused with, "Someone will notice those tennis shoes you bought last week for 50 bucks" astrology columns. I mean like stars, planets, galaxies, black holes...
Recently, the first ever shock breakout (a high-energy X-ray flash upon the collapse of a dying star) has been recorded by astronomers in our own Milky Way galaxy. Scientists around the world recorded it. It's a big deal in the science world because until then, supernovae were only witnessed hours after the initial shockwave was released. Seeing the actual explosion of the star allows them to gain more information about what causes the death of a star, what happens, etc.
For those of you who may not know, a supernova is the death of a massive star (larger than the sun). Throughout the life of the star, fusion is occuring from the star's gases. Eventually the fusion results in the formation of iron at the core of the star. The iron builds up, until after millions of years, the star is no longer capable of sustaining the iron. The core crumbles, and a shock is released that explodes through the gases to the surface of the star. The eruption is called a shock breakout, it's an X-ray beam, and it only lasts for a few minutes... after that, visible energy is released. The outer layer of gases surge off into space. The elements they carry are desposited into the surrounding stars, planets, suns, what have you and enrich the element content of them. The gas as it's flying through the space is called a supernova remnant. Supernova explosions are one of the most powerful events in the universe. The light that they give off can outshine an entire galaxy...*
Anyway, I got interested in stars & stuff while researching for my novel. Some of the photographs from Hubble and NASA were really the most beautiful things I had ever seen, and I was pretty hooked on learning more about this stuff.
I'm curious if any of you guys are interested at all in astronomy, even just looking at the stars on the hood of your car or whatever. This is a picture of the Orion Nebula, actually one of the pictures that got me hooked: www.visionsofthecosmos.co.uk/orion%20hubble%20nasa%201.jpg
* I'm not an astronomer, and it is absolutely possible that I've gotten something wrong about this process (though, to the best of my knowledge, I have not). Feel free to call me out if you see any errors!
i am very interested in astronomy. what fascinate me most are black holes. it's fun to speculate on what would happen to matter once it passes the event horizon (if it ever does because time is so stretched that it theoretically stops as do light). even though black holes have immense, almost incalculable, gravitational pull, stuff leaks out like radiation as matter and light are sucked in, consistent with the law of conservation of energy. i can't imagine how much propulsion is generated for radiation to be ejected from that much force.
All the red and blue little dots are stars. A lot of them are born there.
I agree. Black holes are definitely one of the most interesting things in astronomy. I wonder what it would feel like to turn into a pin prick sometimes.
i wrote a long comment about string theory (The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene) and the possible explanation for how the universe began but the Cult eated it.
t'was probably best as it would have exposed me as the largest nerd on the face of the Cult.
I think the original post in this thread gives me the crown as dorkiest, though. So, damn. Not exactly a title I'm bragging about.
Then again, there's a lot of stuff in the archives or older posts on here that I've never seen. Maybe there's a bigger nerd out there. So, you know, there's hope.
As for your deleted post... this thread needs more string (theory).
... Lame joke. That hope I was just talking about? Poof. It's gone.
The Cult loves nerds. We should have a Dork-Off to find out who is geekiest.
I would set it up, but I don't want to write the rules.
Good coffee is like drinking Rock and Roll.
I thought [i]dark matter[/i] was all the rage nowadays amongst those sciencey types?
Dark matter is definitely all the rage currently. Pullman did a little something to help with that as well.
If you're really interested in the current day stuff going on (or not if we're not careful) check out the CERN site. Getting ready to launch that in July hopefully and we'll really see some amazing stuff. They're getting ready to smash some particles together hard enough to make Hulk proud.
However, we've got some folks who are trying to stop the whole process saying that the process might create black holes and destroy the entire planet. Ahem. Whatever side you fall on (of if you decide to watch playfully from the sidelines) it's all very interesting and makes for some good drama.
JP
The Cult loves nerds. We should have a Dork-Off to find out who is geekiest.
I would set it up, but I don't want to write the rules.
Haha, yeah that's a good idea! I'm probably not the one to write the rules, either, though. I'd participate of course, however.
I don't know how to multiple quote :x , so...
JP: I heard about that news. I didn't get to see an article myself though. The people objecting to the test, did they proclaim any scientific evidence for this, or was it more of a "we don't know what will happen if we do this, so let's, uh, not..." sort of defense? I don't really think this test will create a black hole or cause a rift in the space-time continuum or anything. But, it is interesting.
it may create very small black holes that will disappear right away, it's not really of major concern to the scientists. i think one of the major reasons for having the large hadron collider operational is the possibility of discovering the "god" particle, higgs-boson. also, it may detect the most basic, theoretical, unit of gravity, the graviton. the lhc may also predict the existence of other dimensions when particles smashing together will shoot debris that will dissipate into nothing. sensors can detect if any change of state (matter to energy) occurs but if there is no detection, the assumption is that it has slipped into another dimension. this can account for all of the undetectable dark matter said to exist in the universe and would be a potent argument for the validity of string theory. edit: boobies! lol.
i figured i had to maintain my cult cred (whatever that is) after all that verbiage about dark matter and stuff. hindsight, i should have just made a joke about dark matter and genitals.
The Cult loves nerds. We should have a Dork-Off to find out who is geekiest.
I would set it up, but I don't want to write the rules.
damien: ah, okay, it makes sense now.
And as far as a dork-off goes, I guess if one were to sponsor it, a new thread for it is in order?
I don't think I'd win. I really doubt I'm the smartest dork on these boards. hell, damien probably knows more than me.
Astronomy aint my gig but there is something about the night sky that is undeniably hypnotic. I dont drive so when walking home from friends at night I always choose the darkest paths to avoid street lights. I do this just to ensure that if the urge takes me I can stand and stare at the vastness of the night sky and the stars going on for ever. I'm one of those folk that believe that everything in the universe is connected in some simple way ( can't explain this it just seems so obvious to me that I can't deny it ) and standing on the surface of a tiny planet looking out into infinity does it for me.
That is one pretty photo my friend.
There are no pacts between lions and men.