'Death Star' Aimed at Earth

An anonymous reader writes "A spectacular, rotating binary star system is a ticking time bomb, ready to throw out a searing beam of high-energy gamma rays that could lead to a major extinction event — and Earth may be right in the line of fire. Australian science magazine Cosmos Magazine reports: 'Though the risk may be remote, there is evidence that gamma ray bursts have swept over the planet at various points in Earth's history with a devastating effect on life. A 2005 study showed that a gamma-ray burst originating within 6,500 light years of Earth could be enough to strip away the ozone layer and cause a mass extinction. Researchers led by Adrian Melott at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, U.S., suggest that such an event may have been responsible for a mass extinction 443 million years ago, in the late Ordovician period, which wiped out 60 per cent of life and cooled the planet.'"

lies, Lies, LIES!!!

[grub (11606)]

443 million years ago

How do these fancy-pants "scientists" know what happened 442,994,000 years before Earth was created?

Re:lies, Lies, LIES!!!

[sm62704 (957197)]

Easy, they asked me.

Re:lies, Lies, LIES!!!

[The-Bus (138060)]

Not only that, but the event is "6,500 light years" away; that's far, far in the future. According to my Kansas Board of Education approved science book, Judgment will come upon us before that time.

Re:I asked GOD

[by Anonymous Coward]

That would explain why his ping sucks in TF2.

Thanks guys

[NIckGorton (974753)]

Further research would be required to determine if we are exactly in line with the axis of the system - but even if we are, we probably still have hundreds of thousands of years to come up with a solution, said Tuthill.

Thanks for putting that at the end of TFA. Now I need to go change my shorts.

Re:Thanks guys

[polar red (215081)]

errr ... "informative" ???

Re:Thanks guys

[Shinmizu (725298)]

Well, I, for one, wanted to know whether he was wearing shorts, something else, or nothing at all.

Re:Thanks guys

[KwKSilver (857599)]

Not only that, but the star is 8000 light years distant, and the danger-zone was cited as 6500 light years. Even allowing for a 10% error in both figures...

Oh come on!

[ArcherB (796902)]

You mean I've been driving a Prius and spending my beer money on renewable energy only to have this happen!??!

Ob. Simpsons Quote

[phillymjs (234426)]

You mean I've been driving a Prius and spending my beer money on renewable energy only to have this happen!??!

Bart: Aw, recycling's useless, Lis. Once the Sun burns out, this planet is doomed. You're just making sure we spend our last days using inferior products.

~Philly

Well guys..

[ben0207 (845105)]

It was nice knowing you.

Re:Well guys..

[gardyloo (512791)]

You must've been new here.

Not my problem

[dasbush (1143709)]

Further research would be required to determine if we are exactly in line with the axis of the system - but even if we are, we probably still have hundreds of thousands of years to come up with a solution, said Tuthill.

I'll just leave this little problem to my great(x1428) grandchildren to deal with.

No problem

[eln (21727)]

This is really no problem at all. I'm sure we'll find a critical flaw in the star that will allow us to destroy it in the nick of time. Possibly an exhaust port or something like that.

Re:No problem

[Arimus (198136)]

Sorry, exhaust port is out. I put some chicken mesh over the exhaust port and held it place with blutack and duck tape - nothing will dislodge the combined powers of the dark forces holding the mesh in place.

I've also trained the gunners as to what the rebel ships look like and what the empire ships look like together with electro therapy they now know what to shoot at.

The major commander on the death star will not be on board one of the fighters defending it.

And anyway when the heroes first arrive on the station they will be taken, under armed guard, placed against the nearest wall and shot. Following being shot they will have their heads chopped off while I watch giving no chance for them to stage a stunning escape and disrupt my evil plans. This death will lack drama will be simple, won't go wrong, will make a mess - but hey, I've got an army of evil underlings who can clean up.

Please God, no...

[d34thm0nk3y (653414)]

if years > 6000 and state == Kansas: Bad_Evolution_Jokes()

Impossible

[wumpus188 (657540)]

John Titor would have warned us.

Cosmos Magazine reports

[Anne_Nonymous (313852)]

>> Cosmos Magazine reports

Other articles include:

10 Fabulous Handbags for the Apocalypse
Is Your Man Cheating? Find Out With A Quantum Telescope.
Lose Weight Fast - New Dark Matter Diet.

Isn't it obvious?

[PingXao (153057)]

To Americans, at least, it's obvious. It hates our freedom.

The Bad Astronomer has covered this on his blog.

[jdoss (802219)]

Right here [badastronomy.com].

Re:OH NOES

[NIckGorton (974753)]

Oh, wait, HOW long will it take this radiation to reach Earth from 6,500 light years away?

Next Thursday if it went Supernova 6,499.99 years ago.

Re:OH NOES

[kemenaran (1129201)]

The problem is that we see the star as it was 6500 years ago. As far as we know, it could have already exploded, and a good bunch of gamma rays be coming to us right now. So you were right, we're doomed ^^

Re:Thanks Global Warming

[Pharmboy (216950)]

If these rays cool the planet, and Global Warming warms the planet, we should stay a nice luke-warm and be fine, right?

Except for the searing ultraviolet from a lack of ozone, I would say you are about spot on.

Re:Thanks Global Warming

[ajs (35943)]

If these rays cool the planet, and Global Warming warms the planet, we should stay a nice luke-warm and be fine, right?

You're mis-reading the quote. The event cooled the planet, not the rays. Likely that was a result of secondary effects. For example, killing 60% of living things would result in lots of barren land which would produce large amounts of dust. That may have been what produced the cooling effect.

Re:Episode of Sliders

[phillymjs (234426)]

The science on that episode (and most later episodes) was like the computer terminology thrown around in Hackers-- if you knew how wrong it was, it was almost painful to watch/hear. IIRC, the pulsars looked like empty toilet paper rolls with light coming out of the ends. And they didn't just irradiate Earth and leave it physically intact but lifeless, they made it blow up. Ugh, I'm shaking my head in disgust at the mere memory of it.

That show started off great and is 100% responsible for me getting interested in the alternate-history genre. Unfortunately, after the creator left they just resorted to stealing movie plots and it got downright ridiculous and pathetic.

~Philly