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Post by MartinT on Feb 7, 2020 9:41:00 GMT
Question: why did the smaller star 'stop short of colliding with [the red giant]'?
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 7, 2020 9:49:31 GMT
I have no idea - maybe the article is misleading and the star is still spiralling in.
I have trouble imagining what would stop it doing so unless the inner regions of the red giant envelope where the companion star now is are devoid of matter so it has found a stable orbit. Does seem unlikely.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 14, 2020 18:57:13 GMT
could the red supergiant star Betelgeuse be about to go supernova? It's expected to soon* and is behaving oddly atm as if it's up to something. * i.e. in the next 100,000 years. Aha, a clue as to why Betelgeuse is dimming - it's now down to about 1/3rd of its average brightness - unprecedented! Recent images of the star's surface [luckily it's so large that a vague fuzzy image can be produced using a state of the art telescope], one image taken January 2019 the other in December ...  It looks to me that the top left quadrant of the star is the same, but something is obscuring the rest causing the overall brightness to dim. Red supergiants like Betelgeuse are known to expel copious amounts of dust - so maybe a recently ejected dust cloud just happens to be heading toward us and is partially obscuring the star. www.iflscience.com/space/feast-your-eyes-on-these-incredible-new-images-of-a-dimming-betelgeuse/?fbclid=IwAR2aTve4smuAuStvCPb8RX0GILpAUzRgbXxWw0uA8IssKMIFZJu4S4Kr0DA |
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Post by MartinT on Feb 14, 2020 23:47:37 GMT
Amazing images to be able to resolve more than a dot of light.
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Post by Slinger on Feb 14, 2020 23:58:35 GMT
In case we're not around tomorrow, Saturday, I'd just like to say so long, and thanks for all the fish. Forget Coronavirus: This ‘Earth Destroyer’ Asteroid Could Kill You First
In a year of global threats like coronavirus, the killer asteroid hurting toward Earth this Saturday is a dreadful reminder of space dangers.
The asteroid has a diameter of 3,250 feet. That’s bigger than the tallest building on Earth – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It will cross Earth’s path this Saturday at 6:05 am EST. The giant space object is simply named “163373 (2002 PZ39).” It’s what astronomers call an “Apollo” asteroid. These are asteroids with a path that crosses Earth’s orbit. Faced with a choice between an apocalyptic meteor strike and another four years of Trump, most New Hampshire Democrats chose Armageddon. | Source: TIME SOURCE |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 15, 2020 4:33:14 GMT
Haha, yes, another Earth Destroyer asteroid beloved of the tabloids.
It'll happen one day, but probably not this day. And it will have to be bigger than that unless it's made out of anti-matter.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 17, 2020 8:13:18 GMT
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Post by Slinger on Feb 17, 2020 13:24:50 GMT
Two petabytes?  ?  |
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Post by MartinT on Feb 17, 2020 13:55:10 GMT
I'll stick it in our cloud storage. Plenty of room for more  |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 23, 2020 11:06:42 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Feb 23, 2020 12:35:23 GMT
I read a really good SF novel about 2D beings that live on a neutron star. Can't remember the name now. Made you think about the issues with living under extreme gravity.
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 23, 2020 13:10:47 GMT
.... they could only move easily in line with the magnetic field?
I seem to recall a story like that.
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Post by Slinger on Feb 23, 2020 14:53:16 GMT
It's quite a famous story, if it's the one I'm thinking about. It's called "Flatland" and it was written as a societal satire in Victorian times. Found it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 23, 2020 17:26:35 GMT
Ah, yes, Flatland. A classic.
But not the one I was thinking of, the one I had in mind was definitely recent and specifically about life on a neutron star, including the then latest and best knowledge about the things. Maybe 20-25 years old.
The magnetic field is so strong it's a major effort to cross the field lines, whereas you can go parallel with them easily.
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Post by petea on Feb 23, 2020 17:35:51 GMT
Dragon's Egg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg) and the follow-up novel, "Starquake" from 1980 and 1985 respectively maybe?
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 23, 2020 17:40:40 GMT
Ah, right, yup. 40 years, my goodness! I was young then.  |
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Post by MartinT on Feb 23, 2020 20:25:21 GMT
Dragon's Egg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg) and the follow-up novel, "Starquake" from 1980 and 1985 respectively maybe? That's the one! Thanks, Pete. |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 24, 2020 8:21:25 GMT
Just for the "Wow" of it  |
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Post by jandl100 on Feb 24, 2020 17:26:55 GMT
RIP Katherine Johnson, who died today aged 101. She took us to the Moon.  |
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Post by MartinT on Feb 24, 2020 17:35:06 GMT
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?
