Star Just Ate a Planet, and It's Not Done Yet

Post by lenkite » Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 8:33 PM UTC

jjav wrote: post #51

owlninja wrote: post #7

I love stories like this. A subtle reminder how inconsequential our actions are on this planet in the grand, unplanned scheme. I look forward to reading HN with my breakfast each morning then going to a job that helps me raise a family and have fun on the weekends. I read stories of war, corruption, sadistic leaders, and great suffering. I've learned to appreciate the joys of life and have come to terms that we are n…

> A subtle reminder how inconsequential our actions are on this planet in the grand, unplanned scheme. I don't find that to be useful at all. Yes of course, all the suffering on Earth is nothing but a footnote in 0.000000001 font size as far as the universe is concerned. But that's irrelevant. We live on Earth, so what happens here is actually 100% of what matters. Everything else is inconsequential.

Post by stouset » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 12:04 AM UTC

drannex wrote: post #58

joquarky wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It takes far more than DNA to recreate a human.

important part: "and a device to create terran life". @WalterBright, I've always preferred the idea that to explore the stars the only chance we have at doing so is by bio-growing humans (cloned?), and somehow uploading and downloading a current humans consciousness into the form. basically 'seeding the universe' since we would just start sending little seeds of human life everywhere. :-)

Post by WalterBright » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 2:20 AM UTC

stouset wrote: post #63

drannex wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

important part: "and a device to create terran life". @WalterBright, I've always preferred the idea that to explore the stars the only chance we have at doing so is by bio-growing humans (cloned?), and somehow uploading and downloading a current humans consciousness into the form. basically 'seeding the universe' since we would just start sending little seeds of human life everywhere. :-)

> "and a device to create terran life“ … and all the devices and nutrition necessary to sustain that Terran life until it can become self sufficient—without the help of preexisting humans to teach them or impart physical skills—on a rock with either no life, inhospitable life, or nutritionally incompatible life. You might as well call that device a magic wand.

Post by taneq » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 9:53 AM UTC

pdonis wrote: post #25

jmyeet wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the first gravitational wave detections by LIGO was I think the merger of two black holes or maybe a black hole and a neutron star. It was over a billion light years away I think but was so energetic that it conveted approximately 5 Solar masses into energy in about one second . That's ~10^48 Joules. In 1 second that is ~10^48 Watts. For comparison, the Milky Way has an estimate of 5x10^36 Watts so we're talki…

> If you think about it, they must have a lot of protons to generate a field so strong Not necessarily. Neutrons have a magnetic moment. As I understand it, there is a magnetohydrodynamic model of how a magnetar's field gets generated, which would require protons, but it's not the only model and we don't have enough data to be able to rule out other models.

Post by pdonis » Sat, Jul 11, 2026, 5:45 PM UTC

taneq wrote: post #67

pdonis wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you think about it, they must have a lot of protons to generate a field so strong Not necessarily. Neutrons have a magnetic moment. As I understand it, there is a magnetohydrodynamic model of how a magnetar's field gets generated, which would require protons, but it's not the only model and we don't have enough data to be able to rule out other models.

> Neutrons have a magnetic moment. Wait, what? Huh, I have some reading to do. Thanks! :D I thought neutron stars generally had a shell or crust of iron, which generates a magnetic field (as metals do) if the neutron star is spinning.