Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Star Flung From Milky Way at High Speed

Posted by Zonk on from the knocked-one-out-of-the-park dept.

fenimor writes "Using the MMT Observatory in Tucson, astronomers have discovered a star three times bigger than the sun, leaving our galaxy at a speed of over 1.5 million miles per hour (670 kilometers per second). The first-of-its-kind finding not only confirms an earlier theory about the existence of such speeding stars, but also reinforces the notion that the Milky Way spins around a black hole."

8 of 512 comments (clear)

  1. That's Life by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a glider!

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  2. Outcast Star by lecithin · · Score: 5, Funny

    "We're tempted to call it the outcast star because it was forcefully tossed from its home."

    Instead they are going to call it a galaxy challenged star.

    --
    It could be worse, it could be Monday.
  3. Fling out of the galaxy by falser · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok, now how do we apply this knowledge to do the same to Microsoft/Paris Hilton/Terrel Owens/Celine Dion.... ?

  4. Wish Upon A Star... by FIGJAM · · Score: 5, Funny

    Starlight, star bright, first-of-its-kind star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, get laid tonight.

    --
    Do your best, hope for the best, suspect the worst.
  5. Hindmost by Rorschach1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Goddamned Puppeteers. Before you know it, they'll be fleeing with all the good stars.

  6. Re:Man... by Mindwarp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mass of the star: approx 6x10^30 kg Velocity: 670,000 m/s Kinetic energy = 0.5 x m x v^2 Energy is very approximately 1.3x10^42 Joules, which I believe is enough to heat a Googleplex of Libraries of Congress for 3.141 Millenia.

    --
    The gift of death metal does not smile on the good looking.
  7. Re:Little relativistic phenomena by EulerX07 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The speed of light (c) is 300 000 km/s. 670/300000 = 0.0022. It's going at 0.0022c.

    Don't worry, you're the not the first person to post disinformation on this site and get modded up as informative. Also, you should have worked with the metric values instead of messing around with the imperial values. Ye olde english system is great for measuring stuff in your trousers, but not as great for astrophysics.

  8. What about relativity? by aiken_d · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the SDSS J090745.0+24507 Daily News:

    Universe Takes Off
    The entire rest of the Universe suddenly accelerated to over 670km/sec and is fleeing our vicinity at an astonishing rate. In fact, the Universe seems to have decided to move a large region of intergalactic space into our vicinity, which will have a dramatic negative effect on property values.

    Scientists are at a loss to explain the sudden move by the entire Universe, but have assured the Theocracy that the subspace ether is still intact and that our sun is still planted firmly in exactly the same spot it always has been. The scientists did say that the sudden movement by the entire Universe may have stressed the subspace ether, and that concerned citizens should at least double their daily offerings to Zugbat lest our sun lose its attachment to the ether and be sucked across space with the rest of the Universe.

    There will be an execution of two atheists who suggested that our sun had begun moving at a high rate of speed, and not the rest of the universe. See page 6.

    Cheers
    -b

    --
    If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.