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Huge Hydrogen Cloud Will Hit Milky Way

diewlasing points us to a story about a hydrogen cloud, eleven thousand light-years long, which will collide with the Milky Way in a devastating crossfire of shock waves and star formation...in 20-40 million years. Mark your calendars. At least it will give us something to watch while we're waiting for Andromeda to hit us in a few billion years. Hopefully, it will look at least this cool. "The detailed GBT study dramatically changed the astronomers' understanding of the cloud. Its velocity shows that it is falling into the Milky Way, not leaving it, and the new data show that it is plowing up Milky Way gas before it as it falls. 'Its shape, somewhat similar to that of a comet, indicates that it's already hitting gas in our Galaxy's outskirts,' Lockman said. 'It is also feeling a tidal force from the gravity of the Milky Way and may be in the process of being torn apart. Our Galaxy will get a rain of gas from this cloud, then in about 20 to 40 million years, the cloud's core will smash into the Milky Way's plane,' Lockman explained."

29 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Hindenstromics by Chairboy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh the hugegalaxy!

  2. Re:Shame by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, the milky way does have intelligent life. Their intelligence can be seen by the fact that they didn't get in contact with us.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  3. Hydrogen economy by ShadeOfBlue · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is god's answer for all those people who said hydrogen was just an energy storage mechanism, not a solution to the energy crisis. Look, there's untold millions of barrels of the stuff headed our way!

    1. Re:Hydrogen economy by KiloByte · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why would we wait that long? Hey, there's a decent ball of the stuff just mere 8 light minutes away...

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    2. Re:Hydrogen economy by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Terrorists set fire to it. Fortunately, there's a smaller ball 4-6 AU from us that they haven't got to yet.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  4. Re:I don't think it means what you think it means. by KiloByte · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's gas! It's deadly! Protect yourself! Protect your kids!

    I bet quite a number of folks will stock up on gas masks when they'll hear these news...

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  5. Re:Alternative energy source? by BSAtHome · · Score: 2, Funny

    ROI in about 40M years. Must be a profitable venture for your grand^(1M) -children (unless they win a Darwin award).

  6. Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Something to watch while were waiting Duke Nukem Forever

  7. The Earth is 6000 years old by Gothmolly · · Score: 1, Funny

    Wait, since the Earth is only 6000 years old, how can this be possible?

    /Seriously, how do religious people deal with this sort of thing?

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
  8. Sorry about the cloud, guys by russlar · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know what these high-fiber diets do to you.

    --
    Anybody want my mod points?
  9. Huge Gas Cloud Will Hit Milky Way by maroberts · · Score: 2, Funny

    God wishes to extend an apology to all inhabitants of the Milky Way for the after effects of the Chilli and Beans he consumed a while ago....

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  10. Re:Stock Market and Banks by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 3, Funny

    we will not really know how accurate that prediction is until in about 20 to 40 million years.
    I'll put the kettle on, shall I?
    --
    It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
  11. This is extremely important by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Funny

    We need to start building ships and load them full of our most important people. Politicians, Lawyers and phone sanitizers. It would best not to wait until the hydrogen hits these people are far too important and should be saved now! The future of our civilization depends on it!..... We'll start building ships for the rest of us when they are safely on their way.

    1. Re:This is extremely important by Frequency+Domain · · Score: 3, Funny

      Has anybody else noticed that the gas cloud looks a lot like a giant space goat?

  12. Re:I don't think it means what you think it means. by letxa2000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's gas! It's deadly! Protect yourself! Protect your kids!

    Oh come on. By now you should know the only deadly gas is CO2.

  13. MegaMaid by __aaqvdr516 · · Score: 2, Funny

    If in 20-40 million years we're still having an energy problem I'll recommend breaking out MegaMaid. Let's make sure she's set to suck (not blow) so we can collect all of this hydrogen to use in our H2 powered vehicles :) I better get cracking on canning air to sell to the Spaceballs in payment for MegaMaids services.

  14. Life that one down, Milky Way. by nick_davison · · Score: 4, Funny

    If there's one thing I find more embarrassing than gas trapped in my outskirts, it's when it causes a "devastating crossfire of shock waves and star formation." It's almost impossible to blame on the dog.

    Don't expect to be invited to too many parties in the 20,002,007AD-40,002,007AD season.

  15. Re:Shot in the Dark by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since it's not very dense either (nebulous cloud), the effect of it colliding with the milky way will be like a bug colliding with your windshield.
    That's kind of ambiguous. Are we the windshield, or the bug?
    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  16. Discrimination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    The detailed GBT study dramatically changed the astronomers' understanding of the cloud.

    No lesbian astronomers involved in the study, then?

  17. hudrogen rush by wikinerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    now it's time for the hydrogen economy!

  18. Re:Shot in the Dark by king-manic · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's interesting is that apparently they don't know where it came from, and it's supposedly strange to just have a relatively small cloud of hydrogen coming towards us from a totally empty area of space. God, Cthulu, and the FSM went to a Mexican place for lunch.
    --
    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
  19. Re:Shot in the Dark by ppanon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Both. It's a windshield made of bugs.

    --
    Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
  20. You sure it's intelligence? by Moraelin · · Score: 2, Funny

    You sure it's intelligence? I can think of a more high-school scenario there. I mean, picture two fashionable grey-alien girls after a cow-tipping tour to Earth.

    "Oh, like, those Sol guys are, like, soo nerdy, always with their, like, radio-teles-wossnames and their gizmos. And, like, God, they just can't take a hint when they're, like, not wanted. You'd think, like, after they got ignored a dozen times, they'd, like, quit trying to get our attention already. I mean, gah, gag me with a spoon, like I'd ever want to be seen talking to some geek who's, like, fiddling knobs all day. Those SETI guys should, like, so get a _life_. I mean, like, geesh, like they'll ever get laid if they're, like, fiddling with that telescope all day. And, geesh, what's with those _clothes_? Fer crying out loud, those suits are sooo, like, last _millenium_. And have you seen those haircuts? Like, gag me with a spoon. They should, like, take a hint from those guys from Rigel. Mmm, those are soo dreamy. 'Course, I bet they don't want to be seen, like, nursing a bunch of nerds either."

    Well, it's a possibility ;)

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:You sure it's intelligence? by DigitalWallaby · · Score: 3, Funny
      If those gray alien chicks are ignoring us, I have just one question.

      Who is doing the rectal probing?

    2. Re:You sure it's intelligence? by PitaBred · · Score: 2, Funny

      The gray alien football players. It's like an intergalactic wedgie.

  21. Re:I don't think it means what you think it means. by CrazedWalrus · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's easy. Just use the last several inches to cover your mouth and nose. That'll be sure to keep all those nasty gases out! Problem solved!

  22. God's Fart by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    First God gives us the finger, and then he farts our way. He must be trying to tell us something about our conduct.

  23. You wanted hydrogen fuel? Here you go. by Venik · · Score: 2, Funny

    Our Galaxy will get a rain of gas from this cloud... Not if Gazprom gets to it first.
  24. Re:Shot in the Dark by SageMusings · · Score: 4, Funny

    it's more akin to throwing a baby at an 18-wheeler

    Interesting example. I would have used the puppy vs large wood chipper example.

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    -- Posted from my parent's basement