The anonymous reader is wrong. A supernova would be accompanied by a large amount of shockwaves through the star, and a large amount of pressure waves. There would be no sound, in the sense that there would be no neurological interpretations of these phenomena, but they would still happen.
The question for me is how long does the bad stuff last?. If the answer if less than 12 hours then I will be hoping it happens just after Betelgeuse drops below the horizon at 144 degrees east.
First up, let me preface this by saying a supernova happening at six hundred light years is probably no big deal. Probably. However, there is some evidence that gamma ray bursts might be the product of a sufficiently massive star dying and producing a black hole, in which case we could be in trouble if we were struck be such an event at close range.
But having the bulk of the earth between yourself and such an event would not save you. Remember that we're talking about enough energy here
I read somewhere that if the star Sirius, which is only 13 LY from us, were to go supernova, which I believe its capable of, we would have a serious problem starting in 13 years after it actually happened.. If I remember correctly the article, said that life on Earth would be toast when the light speed particle storm reached us... Anybody remember seeing this or am I in the early stages of Alzheimer...
From what I have read, a supernova occuring within approximately 60 light years of us would be bad news. Obviously the closer it gets the worse for the Earth, but the environmental effects diminish to negligable levels after 60.
The bummer is that we wouldn't know until it hit us.
It isn't capable of a core collapse supernova. Sirius A weighs only 2 solar masses, about 7 solar masses short of the limit for a star to go supernova. However, there is a chance that Sirius B would accrete sufficient matter from Sirius A when it become a red giant. This would require a) that Sirius A grows beyond the Roche lobe b) that about 0.4 solar masses are transferred.
I strongly doubt that condition A will be met, since Sirius B is far enough from A to be resolved in small telescopes (if you manage
Money will say more in one moment than the most eloquent lover can in years.
Yes (Score:5, Informative)
The anonymous reader is wrong. A supernova would be accompanied by a large amount of shockwaves through the star, and a large amount of pressure waves. There would be no sound, in the sense that there would be no neurological interpretations of these phenomena, but they would still happen.
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Re: (Score:5, Informative)
Won't matter much.
First up, let me preface this by saying a supernova happening at six hundred light years is probably no big deal. Probably. However, there is some evidence that gamma ray bursts might be the product of a sufficiently massive star dying and producing a black hole, in which case we could be in trouble if we were struck be such an event at close range.
But having the bulk of the earth between yourself and such an event would not save you. Remember that we're talking about enough energy here
Re:Yes (Score:1)
I read somewhere that if the star Sirius, which is only 13 LY from us, were to go supernova, which I believe its capable of, we would have a serious problem starting in 13 years after it actually happened.. If I remember correctly the article, said that life on Earth would be toast when the light speed particle storm reached us... Anybody remember seeing this or am I in the early stages of Alzheimer...
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Anybody remember seeing this or am I in the early stages of Alzheimer [?]
If you are, it must be a unique case where the memory is not lost but gained :-)
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Anybody remember seeing this or am I in the early stages of Alzheimer [?]
If you are, it must be a unique case where the memory is not lost but gained :-)
Inventing memories (confabulation) is a fairly common symptom of Alzheimer's disease.
Re: (Score:1)
From what I have read, a supernova occuring within approximately 60 light years of us would be bad news. Obviously the closer it gets the worse for the Earth, but the environmental effects diminish to negligable levels after 60.
The bummer is that we wouldn't know until it hit us.
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I don't think you're in the early stages of Alzheimer's, though I'd worry more about that eventually happening that Sirius going boom in my lifetime.
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