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Space Telescope Catches Monster Flare

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the big-boom dept.

gollum123 writes, "NASA's Swift satellite has seen a giant flare explode from a nearby star. Our sun also flares when twisted magnetic field lines in the solar atmosphere suddenly snap — but this was on a far larger scale, perhaps 100 million times as strong. The energy released by the explosion on II Pegasi was equivalent to about 50 quintillion atomic bombs. If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth. II Pegasi is a binary system 135 light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. Its two stars are close, only a few stellar radii apart; as a result, tidal forces cause both stars to spin quickly, rotating in lockstep once in seven days compared to the Sun's 28-day rotation period. Fast rotation is thought to be conducive to strong stellar flares."

118 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Reported on Election Day, Coincidence? by lecithin · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's Election Day, so I get into work early, before lunch even. The phone rings. Shit!

    I turn the page on the excuse sheet. "COSMIC SOLAR FLARES" stares out at me. I'd better read up on that. Two minutes later
    I'm ready to answer the phone.

    "Hello?" I say.

    The Voting machines are messed up, We can't vote!!!

    "Ah, yes. Well, there's been some cosmic solar activity this morning, it always disrupts electronics..." I say, sweet as a sugar pie.

    "Huh? But I my friends could vote in Itasca County"

    "Yes, that's entirely possible, cosmic solar activity is very unpredictable in it's effects. Why just a few years ago, we had some votes just dissappear from a guys total during the middle of a recount!"

    --
    It could be worse, it could be Monday.
    1. Re:Reported on Election Day, Coincidence? by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Funny
      It's Election Day, so I get into work early, before lunch even. The phone rings. Shit!

      I turn the page on the excuse sheet. "COSMIC SOLAR FLARES" stares out at me. I'd better read up on that. Two minutes later I'm ready to answer the phone.

      "Hello?" I say.

      The Voting machines are messed up, We can't vote!!!

      "Ah, yes. Well, there's been some cosmic solar activity this morning, it always disrupts electronics..." I say, sweet as a sugar pie.

      "Huh? But I my friends could vote in Itasca County"

      "Yes, that's entirely possible, cosmic solar activity is very unpredictable in it's effects. Why just a few years ago, we had some votes just dissappear from a guys total during the middle of a recount!"
      Offtopic?

      Too bad the mods don't understand BOFH excuse calendar humor. But you did leave off the part where voters for the wrong party have their opinions corrected via an ingeneously improvised "patch" to the voting machine involving a cattle prod....
      --

      Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
    2. Re:Reported on Election Day, Coincidence? by tunguska1908 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The parent comment is an amusing narratve, but if we wanted to find some holes in it....

      1) The article is in regard to a large stellar flare, not a solar one. Currently the Sun is at solar minimum, and while large solar activity can occur at this time of the cycle, such activity is rare. For those that are interested, the National Solar Observatory has images of the current solar activity, and a current space weather report is available from the Space Environment Center. Besides all of that, the flare the article is referring to was detected close to a year ago.

      2) Even if the storm referred to were from our own star, most of the effects of solar activity do not reach Earth for several days (especially those that affect our electronics). Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large amounts of charged particles that can interact with our magnetic field causing geomagnetic storms. These particles take numerous hours to several days to travel from the Sun to Earth. On the other hand, radio interference can happen as soon as the storm is detected (8 minutes after the event). But even then, the antennas usually need to be pointing toward the Sun in order for the SNR to be low enough for problems.

    3. Re:Reported on Election Day, Coincidence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      "cosmic solar activity is very unpredictable in it's effects"

      Yeah no kidding! It turned the perfectly usable possessive ITS into the ridiculous IT IS!

  2. WMD? by CommunistHamster · · Score: 1, Funny

    50 quintillion atomic bombs? The pegasiuns have nukular weapons! Quickly, draw up sanctions/ignore/invade

    1. Re:WMD? by imikem · · Score: 1

      If they have 50 quintillion nukes, you're welcome to lead the assault. I'll wait here, a non-Anonymous Coward. Guilty as charged.

      --
      Perscriptio in manibus tabellariorum est.
    2. Re:WMD? by Grave · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Which bombs? North Korean bombs or the Russian Ivan bombs? The Ivan test was about 10,000 times more powerful than the North Korean bomb.

      I find blanket statements like "More powerful than x nuclear bombs," to be infuriatingly alarmist. Give me a raw tonnage number any day. THAT interests me much more.

      (Of course, I suppose the extra five zero's one might potentially add here aren't that significant, as it is probably still enough power either way to blow up the Earth.)

    3. Re:WMD? by CFD339 · · Score: 1

      The thing about nukular bombs is, well, one quintillion or five -- it no longer really matters. On the hugeness scale, once you past that first quintillion you're pretty much off the charts into the "really fsking huge" end of the spectrum. It's like calling someone a complete fscking idiot. Really, once you get past fscking idiot, the "complete" part doesn't add much does it? I don't know very many partial idiots, and no partial fscking idiots. Anyway, back to really fscking huge bombs -- that one bomb pretty much ruins all the need to measure any bigger.

      --
      The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
    4. Re:WMD? by Kingrames · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can just picture you in a D&D game.

      DM: "you have been killed by the explosion of one billion nuclear bombs."

      You: "Russian or Korean?"

      --
      If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
    5. Re:WMD? by kupekhaize · · Score: 1

      Hey, it makes a difference. If they are Korean theres a good chance that none of them went off correctly...

      --
      One of these days i'm going to find this 'peer' guy and reset HIS connection!
    6. Re:WMD? by Kingrames · · Score: 1

      Whereas if they're Russian, there's a good chance they didn't go off. :)

      --
      If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
  3. One down, billions to go by darkonc · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'mn scratching that system off of my list of possible destinations if we manage to run our current ecosystem into the ground and need to send refugees off to a replacement.

    --
    Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
    1. Re:One down, billions to go by __aajfby9338 · · Score: 1
      I'm scratching that system off of my list of possible destinations if we manage to run our current ecosystem into the ground and need to send refugees off to a replacement.

      Don't scratch it off the list... send the B-Ark there!

  4. Mass extinction? by OakDragon · · Score: 4, Funny
    If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth...

    What if we all ran inside real quick?

    --
    Dark Reflection
    1. Re:Mass extinction? by Sqweegee · · Score: 3, Funny

      I believe the correct procedure when hit with "50 quintillion atomic bombs" is still to not look at the flash followed by duck and cover, isn't it?

    2. Re:Mass extinction? by malsdavis · · Score: 1

      Is there any evidence that earth has been affected by massive sun flares before?

      As the article states, the fact that the sun is "middle-aged" means that such flares are less likely but surely they must still happen occasionally over the course of hundreds of millions of years?

    3. Re:Mass extinction? by moranar · · Score: 4, Funny

      From the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy (movie version):

      Barman: Did you say the world is coming to an end? Shouldn't we all lie on the floor or put paper bags over our heads?
      Ford: If you like.
      Barman: Will it help?
      Ford: Not at all.
      --
      "I think it would be a good idea!"
      Gandhi, about Internet Security
    4. Re:Mass extinction? by sweet+'n+sour · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, it'll probably happen at night, thus saving the planet.

    5. Re:Mass extinction? by khallow · · Score: 1

      I believe the correct response is to brace yourself. That much energy has quite a kick. It'll throw you off balance if you're not ready for it.

    6. Re:Mass extinction? by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      You know, I never understood why people find the "duck and cover" thing so amusing.

    7. Re:Mass extinction? by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny
      You know, I never understood why people find the "duck and cover" thing so amusing.

      Personally I find it amusing because if you actually are nuked, the only thing that ducking and covering will accomplish is that your head will be very close to the proper location to kiss your ass goodbye.

      Excellent send-up of this concept in the South Park episode Volcano (Season 1.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    8. Re:Mass extinction? by IceFoot · · Score: 1

      If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth...

      ...if it was pointed TOWARD the Earth, and not AWAY from the Earth.

      So we would have a 50% chance of survival. (c:)

    9. Re:Mass extinction? by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Ah. So it's the "there's nothing you can do, so you may as well go nuts" theory. Gotcha.

      Thing is, "duck and cover" was never meant to save lives at ground zero. You're absolutely right, anyone within 5 miles of a decent sized nuke will more than likely be vaporized or flattened by the concussion. However, anyone THAT close also won't have much of a chance to "avoid looking at the flash", let alone try to find a place to hide, since the blast will hit them before they even have a chance to think "oh shit".

      All of this advice is meant for individuals far enough away from ground zero to have a chance of surviving. We're talking 10, 15, 20 miles away. At that distance you're only going to see between a 10 and 40 percent fatality rate, depending on the size of the nuke. The majority of those won't be from blast damage, they'll be from getting struck by flying debris or having structures collapse on them. So the advice is actually quite relevant and useful. Unfortunately people hear a dumb joke, and disregard the entire concept.

    10. Re:Mass extinction? by IdleTime · · Score: 2, Informative

      Flares from other stars will not have any effect on us. The sun flares all the time, but most flares are small.

      If you want to know more about the II Pegasi flare, the paper is called Nonthermal Hard X-ray Emission and Iron Kalpha Emission from a Superflare on II Pegasi

      --
      If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
    11. Re:Mass extinction? by Joebert · · Score: 1

      It's just the people that realize why we have the others do it that it's funny to.

      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    12. Re:Mass extinction? by Mspangler · · Score: 1

      Inconstant Moon, by Larry Niven. One of my favorite short stories.

      If you are on the night side, you might make it.

    13. Re:Mass extinction? by Patrik_AKA_RedX · · Score: 1

      50%? considering the sun has much more "away from the earth" than "toward the earth" I'd say our odds are a bit better.

    14. Re:Mass extinction? by dcsmith · · Score: 1
      "...the fact that the sun is "middle-aged" means that such flares are less likely..."

      OK, so maybe I AM middle aged, and I don't flare as often as I used to. I can still flare pretty much whenever I want to, and I flare quite nicely, thank you. I just need a little longer between flares than I did when I was in my 20,000,000s.

      The Sun

      --
      This has been a test. If this had been an actual Sig, you would have been amused.
    15. Re:Mass extinction? by captainClassLoader · · Score: 1

      Unless you're Chuck Norris. In that case, you put on a pair of Ray-Ban aviators and just go about your business.

      --
      "The plural of anecdote is not data" -- Bruce Schneier
    16. Re:Mass extinction? by malsdavis · · Score: 1

      I was actually only enquiring about "massive sun flares".

      i.e. flares which are 1. form our sun and 2. far bigger than the usual or even occasional flares

  5. OOOoooh. by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    We likes pictures? Got any?

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:OOOoooh. by MrCopilot · · Score: 1
      Settle for Graphic Representation from MIT?

      http://space.mit.edu/ASC/analysis/IIPeg/IIPeg.html

      --
      OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
  6. the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The energy released by the explosion on II Pegasi was equivalent to about 50 quintillion atomic bombs. If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth.

    My fellow Americans, our only option is clear: We need to preemptively invade the sun.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by kfg · · Score: 1

      Show us the BMD (Beta of Mass Destruction).

      KFG

    2. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by harp2812 · · Score: 1

      What kills me, is this comment currently has a higher Informative moderation than Funny... "My fellow Americans" indeed. ;)

      --
      I've found that nurturing one's Zen nature is vital to dealing with technology. Violence is pretty damn useful too.
    3. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by notnAP · · Score: 1
      OK, fine.

      But I'm going to have to strongly oppose any plan that uses nukular weapons in space. I'm strongly opposed to the possibility of introducing nukular fallout in space.

    4. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

      Why did this get 4, interesting when it was clearly 5, funny?

    5. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by fbjon · · Score: 1
      My fellow Americans, our only option is clear: We need to preemptively invade the sun.
      Best idea I've heard today! I'll even lend you guys my conveniently fueled and ready Space Ark. I call it, "B". Your trusted allies will follow shortly in "A", just as soon as you've hit the shores and set up home base.
      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    6. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by Scarletdown · · Score: 1
      My fellow Americans, our only option is clear: We need to preemptively invade the sun.


      The logistics of engaging in an invasion of the Sun without burning up are mind-numbingly astronomical. But I suppose if it was all done at night, our troops would be safe.

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    7. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by sootman · · Score: 2, Funny

      50 quintillion atomic bombs? Reminds me of the Seinfeld bit:

      Why do we even use the term 'horsepower'?
      Is that to further humiliate horses?
      The space-shuttle rockets have 20 million horsepower.
      Is there any point in still comparing it... to the horses?
      Any chance of going back to using rockets with horses, trying to keep track of how many we're gonna need?
      "Hey, horse. There's a rocket engine that broke down. Can you get 20 million friends together really fast?"

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    8. Re:the sun: a weapon of mass extinction by Iron+Condor · · Score: 1

      The logistics of engaging in an invasion of the Sun without burning up are mind-numbingly astronomical.

      Just land in the night ...

      --
      We're all born with nothing.
      If you die in debt, you're ahead.
  7. So where is the link to the picture in the Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Isn't it nice that our tax dollars go to these awesome telescopes yet they can't show us a freaking picture.

  8. Anyone call Karl Rove yet? by krell · · Score: 3, Funny

    He arranged it to distract voters, and to also at the same time energize the "Keep us safe from space aliens" vote.

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
  9. Here it is by Average_Joe_Sixpack · · Score: 1

    Massive star and flares

    1. Re:Here it is by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 1

      I wish I knew about that website earlier. I bet I could waste my whole day there.

      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    2. Re:Here it is by nmb3000 · · Score: 1

      Working...
      Working....
      Working.....
      Working......

      Process is terminated due to StackOverflowException.

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
  10. IANAS (I am not a scientist) by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

    "The energy released by the explosion on II Pegasi was equivalent to about 50 quintillion atomic bombs. If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth."

    This is just my unqualified, layman's opinion, but I agree.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  11. Forget global warming... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Now we can have global BBQ with extra-crispy fries to go!

    (BTW, There are no escape exits. Have a nice day!)

  12. Preemptive? Hell.... by krell · · Score: 1

    "My fellow Americans, our only option is clear: We need to preemptively invade the sun."

    Preemptive? It's just striking back, is all. How much longer do we have to go on with them bombarding us with deadly radiation and killing us??!?!

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
    1. Re:Preemptive? Hell.... by jandrese · · Score: 1

      It's all a conspiracy by the big Solar Power companies. They can't afford to let all of that energy fall into the hands of people who won't cowtow to them. That's why they've been lobbying so hard to get their executives into positions of power! It's all so clear now!

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    2. Re:Preemptive? Hell.... by kfg · · Score: 1

      Oooooooooooh no! I'm not going down that road again. I've still got scars from the last time I cracked a joke about it.

      KFG

  13. It wasn't a solar flare... by metlin · · Score: 1

    ...it was just Carter trying to blow up another star. =)

    She just wasn't happy with parting the Red Sea.

  14. Uh, this is news . . . HOW? by mmell · · Score: 2, Informative
    The flare was seen in December 2005 on a star slightly less massive than the sun...

    I'm sure it was news last year, though!

    1. Re:Uh, this is news . . . HOW? by tunguska1908 · · Score: 1

      The news article was just published yesterday. Many research findings take awhile before they are released to the press.

    2. Re:Uh, this is news . . . HOW? by x-guru · · Score: 1

      Thank goodness! I thought I was the only one who noticed that. How could none of the other 100s of /. posters noticed that they are reading an 11-month-old story on a leading-edge technology website!

      C'mon folx, wake up! Details, people, details!!

      --x

  15. Giant Solar Flare ASCII Art by wsanders · · Score: 4, Funny

    Before Explosion:

                            O o

    After Explosion:

                            O o===

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
    1. Re:Giant Solar Flare ASCII Art by brunson · · Score: 1

      LOL! I wish I had points to mod you up. :-)

      --
      09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
      Jesus loves you, I think you suck
  16. A Zero Point module on Sony Battery Recall List? by wa2flq · · Score: 1, Offtopic



    Someone forget to put SG-Atlantis on the notification list?

  17. Old news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is a 135 year old story!

  18. Re:It's a trap! by lobotomir · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, AC is right: initially the tag was used to mark all things Microsoft; now look at Slashdot's frontpage, and it's all over the place.

  19. Images and more Information by iONiUM · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here is the NASA link to this item:
    http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/mon ster_flare.html

    I really wish slashdot would just link the real news item instead of the crappy ones it always seems to find. There wasn't even an image on the one they linked.

    1. Re:Images and more Information by tunguska1908 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Note... the images are not from the event described in the article. While very informative, they are images of flares on the Sun. The event that is described in the article is rather distant to get that type of imagery.

  20. Yeah, but what KIND of atomic bomb? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

    50 quintillion atomic bombs

    OK, so that's a lot, but are we talking 50 quintillion North Korean bombs, or 50 quintillion Really Big Cold War Nation-State Smashers? The point is, analogies like that certainly convey the notion of "A Whole Lot Of Energy," but are really not very meaningful. Not like Libraries of Congress or end-to-end hanging chads that you can really get your head around.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    1. Re:Yeah, but what KIND of atomic bomb? by EveLibertine · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Can we get that estimate in Megadeaths please? It could mean the difference between two admittedly regrettable, but nevertheless, distinguishable post-war environments.

    2. Re:Yeah, but what KIND of atomic bomb? by Jarnin · · Score: 1

      Yeah, they should use something like E=MC^2 as an analogy. That way they could say "The flare from II Pegasi was equal to X kilos of mass being converted into energy". That might give us a better idea of the kinds of energies they're talking about.

    3. Re:Yeah, but what KIND of atomic bomb? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      "...analogies like that certainly convey the notion of "A Whole Lot Of Energy,"..."
      which is exatly what this analogy are supposed to do.
      If you used a specific refrence, it wouldn't be an analogy, would it? it would also be useless to the target audience of the article.

      People have seen picturs of atomic blasts, so it helps them understand.

      personally, I would like it compared how much energy are sun has over time.
      Like "It's the equivilent of get 5 years work of sunlight in 1 second!"
      Or "its the quivilent of burning the library of congress in .0000000001 ns!"

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:Yeah, but what KIND of atomic bomb? by onx · · Score: 1

      I imagine something along the lines of what was used at Trinity (atomic bomb), as the Really Big Cold War Nation-State Smashers® (TM) © were thermonuclear devices, and thus they would have said 50 quintillion thermonuclear bombs.

  21. Re:So where is the link to the picture in the Arti by tunguska1908 · · Score: 3, Informative
    Also, Swift is not designed to detect in the optical range. It's primarily designed to detect gamma rays, and in this case, x-rays. Any images that would be release would probably be spikes on a graph.

    From the article...
    "Swift's Burst Alert Telescope usually detects gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions known, which arise from star explosions and star mergers. The II Pegasi flare was energetic enough create a false alarm for a burst detection. Scientists quickly knew this was a different kind of event, however, when the flare overwhelmed Swift's X-ray Telescope, a second instrument."
  22. heres some pics by 10100111001 · · Score: 1

    Heres some pics of solar flares.

    None are the one FTA, but it probably looks like these, only shaped like some sort of a monster.

    --
    1 voice in a sea of voices
  23. quintillion? by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 1
    maybe it might make a bit more sense to use like exponential notation? A billion in the USA isw 10^9, in the UK, 10^12. A quintillion is even less well defined.

    BTW if a quintillion is 10^18, it's not that much. Our Sun puts out every second about 10^11 equivalent megatons of energy 50 x 10^18 is only 50 (US) billion times as much.

    1. Re:quintillion? by imsabbel · · Score: 1

      You think that the output of roughtly several ten 1000 years of sun in a few hours is nothing much?
      I guess you would even consider a supernova not worthwhile...

      --
      HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  24. How much flare? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny
    The question is, how much flare does II Pegasi need to really express itself? 26? 37? Sure, the requirement is 11 pieces, but I'm sure it doesn't want to just do "the minimum".

    Now about those TPS reports...

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  25. Re:A Zero Point module on Sony Battery Recall List by lthown · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised it took this long for a Star Gate: Atlantis comment to pop-up. I read "Pegasus" and "explosion" and *IMMEDIATELY* thought of Atlantis. Must have been Dr. MacKay blowing up half a solar system again.

  26. Collision by PeterJFraser · · Score: 1

    What would a star do if a planet sized object ran into it?

    1. Re:Collision by ivanmarsh · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm gonna' say: consume it quitely without much hoopla.
      http://www.gulker.com/2006/04/09.html
      Keep in mind how far away from the Sun the Earth is in that image.

    2. Re:Collision by $0.02 · · Score: 1

      File a claim.

      --
      If enithin kan gow rong it whil. (Murfey)
    3. Re:Collision by geekoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      "I'm gonna' say: consume it quitely without much hoopla."

      not for the people on the planet!

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:Collision by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Cool picture, but I wish he'd said how far away from Earth Cassini was.

    5. Re:Collision by ivanmarsh · · Score: 1

      "Leaving the inner solar system" would put it somewhere near Mars' orbit... what's a few million miles.

    6. Re:Collision by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      Unless you put "leaving the inner solar system" halfway between Mars and Jupiter. That's almost a factor of two difference between Mars' orbit and the halfway point.

      If the camera is in the vicinity of Mars' orbit then Earth is actually closer to the camera than to the sun. Either way, this shot might make the Earth look small, but nowhere near as small as it SHOULD look compared to the sun.

    7. Re:Collision by ivanmarsh · · Score: 1

      True... though I would think of leaving the inner solar system to be at Mars' orbit. You're not leaving a city when you're half way to the next city... but, obviously, he didn't give a very helpful reference.

      You can also consider that a considerable amount of the dark spot that is the Earth in the photograph is probably also cast shadow. I would think that the only way that the moon could be showing up in the image at all is if it's creating a void in the sunlight much, much larger than its true size.

      None the less... the size of the Sun is almost impossible to wrap my head around... and to think there are stars out there that make ours look tiny by comparison is just... well, I don't even know.

      That's one big ball o' fire!

  27. I would think an article with "seen" in the title by THESuperShawn · · Score: 1

    would contain at least one picture. Heck, even an illustration would do.

    --
    Repant. Thy end is sheer.
  28. Coal by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 1
    My fellow Americans, our only option is clear: We need to preemptively invade the sun.


    We regret to inform you Mr. President that the invasion plans will have to be put on hold as we are experiencing extreme development problems with the fleet of coal powered inter planetary invasion shuttles Defense Secretary Rumsfeld insisted we develop to carry the invasion force. We would furthermore like to reiterate our previous advice that persuade Mr. Rumsfeld to consider the use of a more conventional power source.

    Respectfully
    NASA
    --
    Only to idiots, are orders laws.
    -- Henning von Tresckow
  29. Swift song - AstroCappella by tunguska1908 · · Score: 1

    For those of you that like music that teaches science, here's on about the Swift satellite (the satellite that detected the flare discussed in the article). You can listen to the lyrics here and the lyrics are posted here. AstroCappella is the group that recorded this; they have several rather interesting songs available.

  30. Extinction? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Scientists using NASA's Swift satellite have spotted a stellar flare on a nearby star so powerful that, had it been from our sun, it would have triggered a mass extinction on Earth.

    Do they mean -
    1. It would have caused mass extinction for sure
                or
    2. It would have caused mass extinction, if the solar flare was pointing to the earth ?

    My point being, the flare is directional. If it was not pointing to earth and still could have caused extinction, then it could mean that a much less powerful flare can cause extinction in earth, if it is pointing straight to earth.

    I was unable to understand from the article, i.e. why the question.
  31. ObQuote Futurama by andphi · · Score: 1

    Leela: You know how much an [military base] that big would cost on the Sun?

  32. Woah by slackarse · · Score: 3, Funny

    I read that as Space Telescope Monster Catches Fire. Too early in the morning for that kinda headline.

    --
    Come to Australia so we can strip search you and rob you of your internets, pr0n, rights and freedoms.
  33. Oblig: Office Space (not as good as BOFH Excuse ) by JensenDied · · Score: 1

    STAN
    We need to talk. Do you know what this is about?

    JOANNA
    My, uh, flair.

    STAN
    Yeah. Or, uh, your lack thereof. I'm counting and I only see fifteen pieces. Let me ask you a question, Joanna.

    JOANNA
    Umm-hmm.

    STAN
    What do you think of a person who only does the bare minimum?

    JOANNA
    Huh. What do I think? Let me tell you what I think, Stan. If you want me to wear thirty-seven pieces of flair like your pretty boy Brian over there, then why don't you just make the minimum thirty-seven pieces of flair?

    STAN
    Well, I thought I remember you saying you wanted to express yourself.

    JOANNA
    Yeah. Yeah. Y'know what? I do. I do want to express myself. Ok? And I don't need thirty-seven pieces of flair to do it. (gives him the finger) All right? There's my flair! And this is me expressing myself. (holds up her hand) There it is! I hate this job! I hate this goddamn job and I don't need it!!

    --

    09:F9:11:02 - 9D:74:E3:5B - D8:41:56:C5 - 63:56:88:C0

  34. Somebody had to say it but... by anzev · · Score: 1

    ...imagine a beowolf cluster of these!

  35. Walk outside at night by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    Practically everything you see in the sky is nuclear fallout.

    Come to think of it, the same is true during daytime.

    --
    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
    1. Re:Walk outside at night by khallow · · Score: 1

      So we need to be concerned about widespread violations of this important international treaty? I'm on that bandwagon!

  36. Re:A Zero Point module on Sony Battery Recall List by jesdynf · · Score: 1
    Heh. Funny. But...


    Informative? I hope to god I find that guy in meta. Meta-moderation needs a "nominate for public humiliation" button.

    --
    Yahoo! Pipes are awesome. How awesome? http://pipes.yahoo.com/jesdynf/slashdot
  37. 1 megaton = 4.2e15 J = about 50 grams of matter. by ClayJar · · Score: 1

    Little Boy, the first atomic bomb (dropped on Hiroshima), was about 15 kilotons. Using that, one would get 3.75e19 kilograms of matter, or about 1/2000th of our moon.

    On the other hand, if you use a 10 megaton device as an example, you get 2.5e21 kilograms of matter. That's roughly 1/30th of our moon.

    Now, if you use a 1 gigaton device, instead, you'd get 2.5e23, which would be 3.4 moons worth of matter.

    Finally, of course, you could just go with "BOOM!"

  38. Re:So where is the link to the picture in the Arti by tunguska1908 · · Score: 1

    You are right; Swift does detect in the optical bands as well. (list of instruments on Swift) I guess it would have been better stated if I had said that Swift is not designed to use optical for finding these types of events. Gamma and x-ray tell us more about flares at this distance than visual data does. I suppose any of these frequencies could be overlayed in an x-y coordinate system to show intensity increases in a physical region, but as you pointed out, at this distance that would not be very interesting to look at. More information would be gained by looking at peaks on frequency graphs.

  39. So let me get this straight: by thegnu · · Score: 1

    If the sun starts spinning about 4 times faster, it may provoke a solar flare that will kill us all?

    Won't anything that gets the sun spinning like a top, oh... KILL US FIRST?

    --
    Please stop stalking me, bro.
  40. Re:It's a trap! by jacksonj04 · · Score: 1

    I'm glad I'm not the only person to have noticed this recently. Every singly story is a trap apparently.

    --
    How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
  41. Re:It's a trap! by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    It's not whether you're paranoid, it's whether you're paranoid enough . Basically everything commercial is a trap. Everything political is a trap. Why? Because it works, and therefore anyone who's not trying to trap you into something every five minutes is probably going to be less successful.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  42. I'll bite by LM741N · · Score: 1

    I for one welcome our new ionic overloards.

  43. Not a monster flare... by larpon · · Score: 2, Funny
    II Pegasi is a binary system 135 light-years from Earth
    Since the system is binary... This must be what the telescope actually saw: 01001111 01001101 01000110 01000111 01000010 01001111 01001111 01010101 01010101 01010101 01001101
  44. Pegasus Galaxy? Stargate? by King+of+the+Sea+Peop · · Score: 1

    My god. How long will we have to wait to see how Major Shepard caused this on SG:Atlantis? This has got to be the best thing for the conspiracy theorists in weeks...

  45. Arthur C. Clarke was right! by Caractacus+Potts · · Score: 1

    That's not a solar flare, it was a black monolith using zero-point energy to smite one of it's failed experiments on creating intelligence.

  46. Re:It's a trap! by Nyago · · Score: 1

    If it bothers you, as it does me, you should tag with !itsatrap to counter it.

    --
    Reality is fluffy!
  47. Re:Hollywood by Scarletdown · · Score: 3, Informative
    "If the Sun were ever to produce such an outburst, it would almost certainly cause a mass extinction on Earth."

    This sounds like a great premise for a hollywood sci-fi epic.


    You mean something like this?

    --
    This space unintentionally left blank.
  48. Re:Is it an.. evil flare? by Barryke · · Score: 1

    They won't pay up, someone already tried that 2000 over years ago and evidently resetted earth.
    ohh... God.

    --
    Hivemind harvest in progress..
  49. Matt Damon? by Z0D14( · · Score: 1
    Wikipedia's entry for Binary star includes some pretty interesting edits. See just below the Headline Text.

    If for whatever reason it has been removed see here. I wonder how long that's been up?

    1. Re:Matt Damon? by iainl · · Score: 1

      A whole 50 minutes before someone fixed it, according to the history. Judging from the times, it happened shortly after someone read the link thanks to it breaking at /.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  50. PICS!?!? by ukemike · · Score: 1

    I'm sick and tired of these astronomy stories that don't show a picture of the phenomena in question. What gives?

    --
    -- QED
    1. Re:PICS!?!? by tunguska1908 · · Score: 1

      I have not seen the data, but I doubt that there are impressive pictures of the event -- especially in the optical bands. This did not happen on the Sun; according to the article, this was in a system 135 light years away. Any visuals would have been very difficult to detect. Additionally, Swift detected this in the x-ray bands. Yes, this can be shown on a coordinate system, and we might see some brightening in the region. However, the flare probably appeared as a peak on a graph... this is not going to provide the kind of images that most readers of press releases are going to be interested in.

  51. Re:So where is the link to the picture in the Arti by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

    Here: .

    Are you happy?

    What, you want before and after? Fine, here.

    Before:

    After: .

    You did notice this is over a hundred light years away right?

  52. You want a pretty pic from 135 light years away? by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    You want a nice, pretty, picture from 135 light years away?

    May I remind you of the very best photo we have of Pluto:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pluto.jpg

    --
    No sig today...
  53. Dinosaurs..? by Roy+van+Rijn · · Score: 1

    So maybe this is what happend to the dino's, no meteor or anything, just a very big solar-flare..! This would explain why some died in very large numbers suddenly (initial exposure) and others dying a little more slowly (couple of days/weeks/months) because of the radiation.

    --
    My blog: http://www.redcode.nl
  54. Re:So where is the link to the picture in the Arti by BTWR · · Score: 1

    i had no mod points, but wanted you to see a kudos...

  55. Original article by VincenzoRomano · · Score: 1

    It is here!

    --
    Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
    For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
  56. Re:You want a pretty pic from 135 light years away by THESuperShawn · · Score: 1

    I see your point. BUT, they did brag about "seeing" it, didn't they? Couldn't they have at least drawn up a diagram? Plus, they also bragged about "seeing" it with their new super-telescope. Wouldn't they want to share what they saw?

    I guess I was just disappointed as I was ready to see a cool picture based on the article description.

    --
    Repant. Thy end is sheer.
  57. Poor description by Handpaper · · Score: 1
    From TFS:

    when twisted magnetic field lines in the solar atmosphere suddenly snap

    What next? Met office guy: - "Damn, I just broke an isobar!"

    Less hyperbole and more science, please.

  58. No, the cat does not "got my tongue." by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1
    The energy released by the explosion on II Pegasi was equivalent to about 50 quintillion atomic bombs


    Sounds like someone from StarDestroyer.net arguing why Boba Fett's ship R2 and C-3PO's escape pod could whip the ass of the Enterprise E. Except for not ending it with ", fool!"
    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  59. continuum between large flare and small nova? by peter303 · · Score: 1

    What is the dividing line between a large flare explosion and small nova explosion?

  60. spin cycle produces shitstorm by NateTech · · Score: 1

    Spin huge masses around each other at high speed, then marvel at the fact that shit gets flung off regularly. I think if this is news, Astronomers are dumber than I thought they were. What exactly are they hoping to learn from this that they couldn't simulate in a standard centrifuge?

    --
    +++OK ATH