Local Galaxy Cluster About to Go Boom

A. Price writes "The Slacker Astronomy podcast reports on a recently discovered super star cluster located just 10,000 light years away. This system is expected to spawn 1500 supernovae in about 40 million years. I don't plan to be around to see the fireworks, but I wish I could. The show will be awesome. SA is a weekly look at astronomy by astronomers as told by a 20-something gal from Harvard and two of her friends. It's funny and cheesy, like the Dr. Who of podcasts."

Miki Berenyi

[Uber Banker]

Now she was cool.

Truth in advertisement...???

[helioquake]

Aaron, kinda misleading to say "Local Galaxy Cluster" when referring just a star cluster in the Galaxy, wouldn't you think?

First I thought you found a nearby dwarf galaxy that is expected to undergo catastrophic star bursts. A bit disappoined to find out that it's just Westerlund 1...

It's a neat object, though.

Re:Truth in advertisement...???

[Anonymous Coward]

Tru dat. Should have been "nearby super star cluster".

Although you can debate whether it is nearby or not. For Pamela, who did her PhD on extra-galactic stuff, this is right next door. For me, working on a PhD on stellar stuff, this is not so close. :) But still plenty close enough to put on a great show, even in the daytime.
-aaron

Re:Truth in advertisement...???

[alleycat0]

...as is the use of "about to" to describe something 40 million years in the future...

Incorrect title.

[Bootsy Collins]

This has nothing to do with galaxy clusters; it's a cluster of stars in our own Milky Way.

Re:Incorrect title.

[Psiolent]

You just parsed it wrong. You read Local (Galaxy Cluster) when you should have read (Local Galaxy) Cluster. That is, it is not a cluster of galaxies that is local. Instead it is a cluster in our local galaxy (the Milky Way).

Re:Incorrect title.

[AstroJetson]

No, it should have read Local Galactic Cluster. A galactic cluster is a cluster of stars in a galaxy as opposed to a globular cluster, which is sort of extra-galactic. A galaxy cluster is a cluster of galaxies. Galactic clusters are usually called open clusters these days to avoid that confustion.

Now I'm curious (warning: offtopic)

[FuturePastNow]

After reading their website, now I want to hear their April Fools podcast (" We will not play the show again. It was up for one day and one day only."). Did anybody who knew about this site before five minutes ago save it? Post a link?

Re:Now I'm curious (warning: offtopic)

[FuturePastNow]

You know, about thirty seconds after I wrote this I tried just changing the date of one of their other 'casts. So, April Fools: http://www.somethingpositive.net/050401-slackastro .mp3 [somethingpositive.net]

Re:Now I'm curious (warning: offtopic)

[Anonymous Coward]

and for those who just want the transcript:

http://www.slackerastronomy.org/transcripts/050401 -theend.txt [slackerastronomy.org]

-aaron

Clever, Saddam

[AtariAmarok]

Clever, Saddam. Hiding those WMD's in distant star cluster. But you never thought the hiding place would be betrayed when Waphoon Zugbart carelessly detonated it when he dropped a cigaratte butt from one of his 5 hands. Never trust those Altarians to guard anything again.

Re:Clever, Saddam

[jd]

For purposes of the continued respect in the quality of the reporting on Slashdot, I wish to remind you that Lord Zugbart can regurgitate the contents of his stomach into the form of a sixth hand as needed.

Had to be said

[TimmyDee]

"I think you mean 39,990,000 years from now." -Me

Best Title Ever!

[gstoddart]

Snappy. Caught my eye. Made me go wow. I give it a thumbs up!

This is awesome

[__aaudsj459]

This show has me on the edge of my seat every week waiting for a new broadcast to come online. Thanks guys. You are awesome.