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Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

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Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

#21
post #3

They said the flare lasted 300,000 years, but how quickly does something like this start? How fast does it go from "nothing" to "full strength"? Also if there was any form of life orbiting a star in the path of this flair, is it safe to assume that said life is no longer alive? At least if that life resembles us in its tolerance (or lack thereof) for radiation.

> Also if there was any form of life orbiting a star in the path of this flair...

Based upon a couple other articles I read [1] [2], it sounds unlikely there were other galaxies or smaller structures in the path of this flare. I only see references to a very directional cone at the poles of the Milky Way, and the cone only intersects a trail of gases left behind by the Magellanic Stream.

Were there somehow orphaned planets, solar systems or smaller galaxies in the path of those cones not mentioned in the articles however, then the gamma rays, X-rays and highly ionizing gases in those cones of energy would certainly strip away most if not all of the atmosphere of any Earth-like planet, and kill all forms of life as we know it unless it was in some kind of weird, tidally-locked configuration that kept one side always facing the originating, ejecting side of the cone.

These flares would make a great plot device setup for a story in the Xeelee Sequence or /r/HFY. We find out the flares are deployed as weapons, used as a kind of galactic-scale sawed-off shotgun against another galaxy. Or the flares are galactic-grade energy reactor experiments gone horribly awry, and are the cause of one Great Filter at the Kardashev Type-III scale.

[1] https://www.sciencealert.com/something-in-the-centre-of-our-...

[2] https://earthsky.org/space/explosion-milky-way-center-seyfer...

Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

#23

So for laymen as us, how far is the center from us in light years?

Give the (Monty) Python headline on today's HN, let me add that it's worth learning to sing https://youtu.be/buqtdpuZxvk I find.

The exact numbers are not quite exact, although they are usually in the right ballpark. "We are 30,000 light-years from Galactic central point." But I found it so useful knowing that song over the years.

Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

#24
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very nearly 3.5 days in terms of a middle aged person's lifetime, which is an interesting rule of thumb I think I've just discovered.

so ... wild guess 37 years * 365 days = 13,500 days universe has existed for 13.5 billion years So each day in a middle aged life is 1 million of the universe's years. I like it ! :-) * This flare: Last Friday * Dinosaur extinction: 3rd of August * Pangea breaks apart: about Valentines day * Earth formed: June 2007 * Universe Born: 1982 Of course this means the Universe would have listened to Flock Of Seagulls as a k…

The puzzling thing is that first life appeared around Xmas 2009, just days after the lava cooled down. (probably)

Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

#25
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In cosmological terms, it's more like "earlier today". Our ancestors were already walking around, talking to black monoliths and crushing skulls by then.

I hate that movie.

Which movie?

Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded

#30
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In cosmological terms, it's more like "earlier today". Our ancestors were already walking around, talking to black monoliths and crushing skulls by then.

I hate that movie.

I've never seen it.
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