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The Arthur C. Clarke Gamma Ray Burst

Posted by kdawson on from the second-biggest-bang dept.

Larry Sessions, a columnist for Earth & Sky, has suggested in his blog that the gamma-ray event whose radiation reached us a few hours before Arthur C. Clarke died, and which occurred 7.5 billion years ago, be named the Clarke Event. The outburst, which produced enough visible light to render it a naked-eye object across half the universe, is officially designated GRB 080319B. What more fitting tribute to Clarke than to associate his name with the greatest bang since the big one? Sessions suggests writing to any astronomers, heads of physics departments, or planetarium operators you know and talking up the proposal.

2 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not only that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Can you back up the pedophile claim? Thought not. As far as I can tell not one shred of evidence for the claim has ever been found. He was still knighted, after a two year delay caused by these claims. That shows pretty clearly that the claims were investigated and found to be false.

    British libel law works differently than in the US. British publishers retract claims at the slightest hint of a lawsuit, even if they are quite true. As another example, see the flap over the recent biography of Tom Cruise. The claims of Clarke's behavior are a bit off in that they call him a pedophile--reports from his circle suggest he prefered boys a couple of years after puberty--but he certainly had a sexually unconventional lifestyle. Even the BBC made reference to this in their obituary (though the passage was removed after several hours).

  2. Re:MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    What a worthless piece of shit you are.