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Black Hole Blasts Neighbor Galaxy with Deadly Jet
butterwise writes to mention that astronomers have, for the first time, witnessed a super-massive black hole hitting a nearby galaxy with a "death-star-like" beam of energy. The story also has a video with simulations, pictures, and explanations. "The 'death star galaxy,' as NASA astronomers called it, could obliterate the atmospheres of planets but also trigger the birth of stars in the wake of its destructive beam. Fortunately, the cosmic violence is a safe distance from our own neck of the cosmos."
Imagine that on a Boeing, you wouldn't have to worry about collateral damage, there'd be nothing remotely collateral left :-)
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
Black hole denies farting; blames it on nearby neutron star.
When those pesky x-wings fly down and shoot the exhaust vent....
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
that they could not nail down the exact nature of the exotic object giving off the deadly beam, but they did offer that "that's no moon"
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
This is what happens when you're not willing to move your galaxy out of the path of a new intergalactic highway. Please don't complain about not knowing about it. The drawings been available in the next galaxy over for ages now.
This is old news, this did happen 1.4 billion years ago.
Besides, the ability to blast an entire neighboring galaxy with a gamma ray beam is insignificant compared to the power of the Force.
That doesn't help the poor aliens living in that neck of the cosmos, you insensitive clod!
I dream of a better world... one in which chickens can cross roads without their motives being questioned.
Yeah, we all know that scientific nomenclature is serious business.
That would indirectly suggest that in this galaxy there was no sufficiently advanced life that would detect, and try to protect itself, or stop, said "death ray".
Some people believe the universe is chock full of life, but this one is score for the skeptics. I remain a cautious optimist.
We often take for granted when we see these cool renditions of distant space that these images are only possible when based on the leaps and bounds made with various telescopes over the last 50+ years:
"Only now by combining the images of radio telescopes, the optical and ultraviolet eyes of Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, can researchers put together the entire violent story about this intergalactic mugging.
The coordinated use of such an array of diverse and powerful telescopes is one of the unheralded triumphs of modern physics, Tyson said. "This is an example of the triumph of that exercise." http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/12/17/galaxy-black-hole-02.html
Just the fact that we can observe such a dramatic event is awe-inspiring.
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Both are correct as long as you mean kwork as kw-orc. If you mean that like kw-irk, then that's the word quirk, which has a very different meaning.
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If you want to be taken seriously as an astronomer then might I suggest not comparing your research to fictional works
;-)
Your suggestion is laughable, astronomers use fiction all the time. Consider the names of the planets, some constellations, etc. I apologize if you believe in the greek/roman gods, you have to consider that most of us consider them fictional.
I have no idea if it's right, but I pronounce it like the name of the Ferengi in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
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The space age is great. It lets us all see that we live on the same small world. One that could, in princple, be accidently blown up by a careless, nearby black hole.
If you want to relate to the masses, instead of assuming everyone who might be interested in your work has a degree in astrophysics, you might compare your research to fictional works easily recognized in society.
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Terrence and Phillip?
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The article states: Both galaxies are situated about 1.4 billion light-years away from Earth.
and then goes on with: The offending galaxy probably began assaulting its companion about 1 million years ago...
If the distance is 1.4 billion light years, light from the event should be taking that much time to reach us, and something that happened only a million years ago should not be visible yet.
What am I missing here?
Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Dachannien. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you complete your Q2 deliverables on time, or given you clairvoyance to know when your boss won't notice that you're reading Slashdot...
You're correct, they can't (though lookup black hole evaporation for a way matter "exits" a black hole w/o actually crossing the event horizon). However, as matter circles the black hole prior to actually falling into it's event horizon it becomes superheated and a great deal of radiation is shot off from both the holes poles prior to the matters actual disappearance into the event horizon.
I find your lack of karma disturbing...
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine...
Woah! This is exactly the premise of A. A. Attanasio's Radix! A line of energy from a black hole hits earth (after having passed over countless other worlds) and interferes with its magnetic field, eventually leading to mass mutations. Brilliant book. :D Out of print, though, as far as I can tell. :(
Reality is fluffy!
This is what happens when a seductive mama galaxy spins in close proximity to an excited papa galaxy.
Well I'm a particle physics professor and the overwhelmingly common pronunciation is 'kwark'. Although I have heard the occasional 'kwork' but only from US people and that only rarely....so now that re-education campaign has worked we just need to get them to pronounce the name of the Z ('zed') boson correctly! :-)
In a speech today, Bush promoted renewed investment in the space agency. "See, we've finally found the WMD and they're in another galaxy, see. It is imperative we develop the technology to impose regime change as quick as possible. 9-11."
No, but I can imagine Beowulff Shaffer flying the Long Shot to go have a look at one.
You can have my SIG when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
On the contrary, the karma-bonus modifiers are strong in this one.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
"Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Dachannien. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you complete your Q2 deliverables on time, or given you clairvoyance to know when your boss won't notice that you're reading Slashdot..."
And how is that women are not turned on by statements like that, I'll obviously never know...
There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
though I don't know how his voice box says it.
Since hackers got at it, it now pronounces it as 'penis'.
Who said physics was boring?
System 3C321 Major: Stellar Nursery, I am your father....
Stellar Nursery: NOOOOOO!!!!
System 3C321 Major: Come to the Event Horizon side, it is your density