Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hate that movie.
I've never seen it.
You should get that fixed.
Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
51–60 of 121 posts
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#52Given that we're able to aim telescopes at things that are billions of light years away, I wonder how close we are to being able to see the reflection of such a thing when it actually happens on some celestial body 3.5 million light years away.
I remember as a child thinking I had fixed time travel (in a very limited sense) when I wondered why we didn't just stick a bunch of mirrors far far away, and then aim them back at the earth and use telescopes to look back at the dinosaurs etc. While that wouldn't work for heaps of reasons, I like your idea. I guess the issue would be discerning 'when' such a thing happened, and finding the right item to look back at…
I had the same idea. I forgot about it before I was old enough to reason about it. At the time I thought the size of the mirrors would be the biggest issue. I guess I thought faster-than-light travel was easy.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#53Earlier 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…
Best I read all day
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#54I am guessing this would lead to solar system-scale destruction? Putting a base on Mars doesn’t seem like it would do much to counter such an event if it headed our way?
From my understanding, something that can wipe out the entire solar system at once is highly unlikely. Huge bursts of concentrated energy coming out of black holes are usually tight beams of high energy particles and light (x-rays, gamma rays) moving very fast and aligned with the object's poles. The focused beam of energy is what is deadly to life. If it's not tight and focused and moving fast, the energy dissipates…
If the black hole was only 1,000 light years away, and the angle of divergence of the beam was only 0.1 degrees, by the time the beam hit our solar system it would be about 2 light years across, or 126,000 AU.
Compared to interstellar distances, our solar system is tiny.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#55They 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 p…
Is there a name for some kind of inverted Kardashev scale, where higher civilizations decide to slow down and go miniature, conserving as much energy and information as possible?
Possibly as a) some kind of bet to hide from other civilizations and b) to delay the heat death as long as possible.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
And for those of us who do not, can you elaborate as to why exactly?
In one of Niven's short stories an alien corporation hires a Human pilot to fly to the galactic core. It's a publicity stunt to demonstrate the speed and range of a new FTL drive. When he gets close to the core, his ship is almost fried by the radiation wave front coming from a chain reaction explosion of suns in the galactic core. This drives events in many of Niven's later stories. The devastation won't reach 'Know…
While these books sound interesting, “amazing and incredibly influential achievement” sounds more like something someone might say about a President than a sci-fi author.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 p…
Is there a name for some kind of inverted Kardashev scale, where higher civilizations decide to slow down and go miniature, conserving as much energy and information as possible? Possibly as a) some kind of bet to hide from other civilizations and b) to delay the heat death as long as possible.
The most advanced civilizations hide in black holes. :)
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#58I am guessing this would lead to solar system-scale destruction? Putting a base on Mars doesn’t seem like it would do much to counter such an event if it headed our way?
intensity is proportional to the inverse square of the distance, anything exploding that far away will be but a pinpoint in the sky by the time it gets here, even if it was a cataclysm when it occurred.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
In one of Niven's short stories an alien corporation hires a Human pilot to fly to the galactic core. It's a publicity stunt to demonstrate the speed and range of a new FTL drive. When he gets close to the core, his ship is almost fried by the radiation wave front coming from a chain reaction explosion of suns in the galactic core. This drives events in many of Niven's later stories. The devastation won't reach 'Know…
While these books sound interesting, “amazing and incredibly influential achievement” sounds more like something someone might say about a President than a sci-fi author.
Larry Niven is still relevant while Millard Fillmore is not.
Re: Not long ago, the center of the Milky Way exploded
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hate that movie.
Forget the movie. I didn't like it either. Read the book. It's fantastic.
The book? I read a book long time ago that was a "novellization" of the movie. I was young, in my early teens, and clearly remember that I wasn't sure what the end meant. Later I watched the movie and realized that it was even less clear. And later learned that the movie was based on a short story (Rendezvous with Rama) that I haven't read.