Tech | June 17, 2011 | 10 comments

Scientists record 'death rattle' of star hitting black hole

source: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Scientists+record+death+rattle+star+hitting+black+ho...

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Vierotchka
In late March, NASA's Swift satellite picked up a blast of gamma rays screaming past Earth.

Astronomers rushed to take a closer look, using powerful telescopes from Hawaii to the Canary Islands to check out the high-energy jet coming from a distant galaxy in the constellation Draco.

They initially speculated a collapsing star created the blast. Now they report that it appears a star the size of the sun was shredded by a massive black hole. Its "death rattle" was a high-energy flash or jet pointed straight at the Earth.

(more at link)
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    Community,   Tech,   Science,   Technology,   3 more
  2. tags:
    Space,  Stars,  Black Holes,  Astrophysics,  1 more
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10 comments // Scientists record 'death rattle' of star hitting black hole

  • Sublime_Emperor
  • BKsaysAction
  • gypsysailor
  • letsliveinpeace
  • UtopianSky
    • +6
      UtopianSky  

    • The only Gods that exist are huge spheres, flying through the heavens, as oblivious to us as giants are to ants.

      The fact that this small sphere developed life makes it no more or less significant than any other; and no less likely to be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

    • 12 months ago
  • hombre76
  • UtopianSky
    • +5
      UtopianSky  
    • hombre76:

      You say:
      "Doom Doom Doom and no one and nothing to save humanity from itself or the overwelming Universe."

      Well, that is true.
      If a black hole gobbles up our sun, there is nothing we can do about it- we are all dead. Even making a colony on the moon or Mars would not be enough, because they would get sucked in too.

      It does no good to pretend that Superman will fly in and rescue us all.

      But, it is quite likely that will not happen- and quite likely that human technological advancement will result in far more positives than negatives.

      You say:
      "tell me again the difference between an Atheist and a Nihilist."

      Simple- Atheism is a theological position, Nihilism is, for the most part, a moral position.

      Atheists say there is no God, nothing more or less than that.
      The physical world DOES exist.
      Atheists can even believe in souls, reincarnation, karma, ghosts, etc.

      Morality for an Atheist can be nihilistic; or, an Atheist can believe that morality is intrinsic and innate within our genes, as instincts; such as alturism, empathy, family bonds, etc.

      And the nihilistic position that there is no purpose to life handed down to us from on high does NOT mean there is no purpose to life.

      Instead, it means we each define our own purpose.

      I think that is a rather happy and uplifting thought.

    • 12 months ago
  • nobsartist
  • 14_Crusaders
  • Buddha2112
    • +1
      Buddha2112  
    • UtopianSky:

      to be more accurate, Atheism is a NON-theological position... It is not a position really, it is just the absence of belief in a god. Atheists do no not necessarily say there is no god definitely, they say they do not believe in god because there is no evidence. Lots of people confuse this with saying they have reason to believe there is no god... Well, that's just not true... We don't need a reason to not believe in god, there is no evidence, so it is an illogical point to stand by, therefore no belief in god...

    • 12 months ago
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