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Ghostly Ring Found Circling Dead Star

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the check-your-optics dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "An international team of scientists has found a strange ring around a dead star by using images taken by NASA's Spitzer space telescope. This star, called SGR 1900+14, belongs to a class of objects known as magnetars. According to NASA, a magnetar is 'a highly magnetized neutron star and the remnant of a brilliant supernova explosion signaling the death throes of a massive star.' So far, about a dozen magnetars have been found. An amazing thing about these stellar objects is their magnetic field. One of the researchers said that 'magnetars possess magnetic fields a million billion times stronger than the magnetic field of the Earth.'

153 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. In other news by unity100 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Dementor" announced that he intends to conquer all 3 magnetars and their orbital satellites.

    Judge Dredd was not available for comment.

    --
    Read radical news here
    1. Re:In other news by Bovius · · Score: 4, Funny

      Magnetar? Sorry, I'm not really into Pokemon.

    2. Re:In other news by mikewelter · · Score: 1

      wow! just think about having an inductor in that field. OPEC goodbye!

    3. Re:In other news by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 1

      That's not what I heard, I heard you liek the mudkips.

      --
      What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
    4. Re:In other news by Phydeaux314 · · Score: 1

      2-hit meme combo!

      --
      Never underestimate the stupidity inherent in all human beings.
    5. Re:In other news by Therefore+I+am · · Score: 1

      So that is what happens when you switch on a Hadron Collider!

    6. Re:In other news by Torvaun · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's super effective!

      --
      I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
    7. Re:In other news by Fumus · · Score: 1

      He is referring to the "It's super effective!" message you get in pokemon...
      Mod him funny. Not insightful.

    8. Re:In other news by Torvaun · · Score: 1

      Yeah, as much as I hate to give up up-mods, he's right. Can you guys at least slap the funny on before the overrated this time?

      --
      I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
    9. Re:In other news by CogDissident · · Score: 1

      Funny doesn't give mod points or karma, insightful does. It's common on slashdot to mod people insightful for funny comments so that their karma go up and allow them moderator points.

  2. The ring by Plazmid · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh great, now that NASA posted pictures on the internet of a ghostly ring, a lot of people are going to die seven days from now.

    1. Re:The ring by sethstorm · · Score: 1

      They just have to show it to other people, then they're off the hook.

      On the other hand, if you show it to all the people of Earth at the same time...

      --
      Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
    2. Re:The ring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I wouldn't worry abo...Whoa wait a minute. A ghostly ring, posted on Slashdot can mean only one thing. Do not RTFA! For the love of God DO NOT RTFA!

    3. Re:The ring by SBrach · · Score: 5, Funny

      In all fairness, they kept on rickrolling me.

    4. Re:The ring by Inner_Child · · Score: 3, Interesting

      http://xkcd.com/396/

      I'm surprised no one mentioned this already.

      --
      Today is red jello day - all workers must eat all of their red jello. Failure to comply will result in five demerits.
    5. Re:The ring by Inner_Child · · Score: 1

      I stand corrected. This is what I get for not refreshing before posting.

      --
      Today is red jello day - all workers must eat all of their red jello. Failure to comply will result in five demerits.
    6. Re:The ring by louks · · Score: 1

      ...Do not RTFA! For the love of God DO NOT RTFA!


      Done and done.
    7. Re:The ring by dfm3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do not RTFA! For the love of God DO NOT RTFA! I wouldn't be so worried about that. This is Slashdot, after all...
    8. Re:The ring by Tailsfan · · Score: 1

      LOL. Good one. where is the image

    9. Re:The ring by jd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, only Nine Lords are doomed to die. But it would be interesting to know why Sauron and Melkor are messing around with a magnetar.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    10. Re:The ring by Plazmid · · Score: 1

      I'm surprised you got an interesting tag with an xkcd link.

    11. Re:The ring by Curtman · · Score: 1

      pictures on the internet of a ghostly ring

      Oh god.. No more goatse please.
    12. Re:The ring by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      Makes you wonder what the /. effect would be like if, say, half of the people who read the comments read the article...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    13. Re:The ring by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      No, all mortal men are doomed to die, the nine get to live a bit longer though.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    14. Re:The ring by Iridium_Hack · · Score: 1

      As long as tourists don't wear metal belt buckles at nearest approach, everything should be all right. If not, Whooaa!

    15. Re:The ring by catman · · Score: 1

      pictures on the internet of a ghostly ring
      Oh god.. No more goatse please. That's ghastly ring, not ghostly.
    16. Re:The ring by fataugie · · Score: 1

      Never Fear....we never do anyways...never stops us from commenting though, does it?

      --

      WTF? Over?

  3. Pssst! by Sta7ic · · Score: 5, Informative

    "A million billion" is 10^6 * 10^9 = 10^15 ... we also call that "a quadrillion".

    I'd be pretty excited about studying these things, were I a physical scientist. When you get some massively powerful EMF, electrons and protons must have very "interesting" behavior.

    1. Re:Pssst! by psychicninja · · Score: 1

      Possibly as much as eleventy million billion times as strong!

    2. Re:Pssst! by SBrach · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is that more or less than a Brazilian?

    3. Re:Pssst! by mark-t · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, that depends... iirc, a billion in the UK is not the same thing as a billion here. A billion here is 10^9, whereas if memory serves me correctly a billion in the UK is a million million, or 10^12. Personally I wish that they would just use scientific notation with numbers over a million, so that we'd really know what sort of order of magnitude we're talking about here. The difference between the US and UK systems just gets worse as the magnitudes get larger.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    4. Re:Pssst! by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Informative

      The standard for a billion has been 10^9 all over the world now for some years. The older value was abandoned in the UK in 1974.

    5. Re:Pssst! by fyoder · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, that depends... iirc, a billion in the UK is not the same thing as a billion here. A billion here is 10^9, whereas if memory serves me correctly a billion in the UK is a million million, or 10^12. Long and short scales

      Had to look that up because it sounded nuts. However, looks like you're sort of right, other than for the fact that UK has abandoned the long scale in favour of the short. So a quadrillion there is now a thousand trillion as well, rather than a 'billiard'.
      --
      Loose lips lose spit.
    6. Re:Pssst! by TheNucleon · · Score: 1

      Actually, everybody knows that a million billion is a gajillion.

      Sheesh.

      --
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    7. Re:Pssst! by pablomme · · Score: 1

      The UK and the US use the same 'billion', as do most other English-speaking countries. It's (about) the rest of the world that disagrees. More here.

      I personally prefer billion=10^12. 'Thousand million' doesn't take that long to pronounce, and you quickly run out of *illions otherwise.

      --
      The state you are in while your HEAD is detached... - wait, what?
    8. Re:Pssst! by pablomme · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Only if by "all over the world" you mean English-speaking countries and Brazil. Citing Wikipedia,

      Most countries and languages in the world use the traditional long scale somewhat in contrast with your statement.
      --
      The state you are in while your HEAD is detached... - wait, what?
    9. Re:Pssst! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I was just about to make a remark about you being an insensitive clod ;-), but please note that billion being 10^12 is not an "older value" in certain countries. Actually, their list is much longer.

      Oh yes, I am aware than on an English-speaking (-writing ?) web site, one has to expect (= billion (expt 10 9)). On the other hand, I have noticed that for many of us Nonenglishmen and Nonamericans, it is simply still often an issue of our subconsciousness that we calculate with long scale numbers without realizing at first. Therefore refraining from using words like "million billion" and using "10^15" instead might actually be a good idea, especially in case of scientific topics. :-)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    10. Re:Pssst! by l00sr · · Score: 1

      I prefer to call that number a thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand thousand, thank you very much.

    11. Re:Pssst! by jd · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, they had a choice. Either switch to the small scale or have very, very large billiard tables.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    12. Re:Pssst! by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1

      I don't understand that. Can you tell me how many hundred hundred hundreds?

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    13. Re:Pssst! by QuoteMstr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm not a physicist, but I'm still fascinated by astronomical phenomena like this. Can anyone tell me what the effects of ultra-strong magnetic fields would be on a living creature? I know we can levitate frogs with powerful magnets, but nothing strange happens to the frog itself. Can we withstand a magnetic field of any strength?

    14. Re:Pssst! by Aranwe+Haldaloke · · Score: 1

      In the UK (and in any country that uses the same "million" system) a "million billion" is 10^6 × 10^12 = 10^18 and is called a "trillion," which is already greater than the US' "quadrillion" (since, as a previous poster already pointed out, 10^6 × 10^9 = 10^15)

    15. Re:Pssst! by xPsi · · Score: 1

      million billion times stronger than the magnetic field of the Earth In cgs units, that's about 0.5 PG (petagauss) or, in SI, 50 GT (gigatesla). Definitely watch your credit cards around that one.
      --
      i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
    16. Re:Pssst! by guruevi · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, we can withstand quite large magnetic fields. MRI scanners are up to 16T right now (experimental) and the side effects minimal. I work in a 3T environment, and the only thing that is a problem is metal in, on or around the body, they get ripped straight out into the bore as soon as you pass the .5 Gauss line. The other precaution is when body parts form loops (like crossed arms or legs or arms/hands holding other body parts) they could potentially cause electric shocks and minor burns. Minor tingling or heat sensations of the extremities is considered not harmful. I think however, in the range (really close since magnetic fields drop with distance) of these type of things you might be able to shock or burn somebody to dead since their body acts as a coil.

      --
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    17. Re:Pssst! by Lazarian · · Score: 4, Informative
      I doubt any living thing could exist in magnetic fields that powerful. Wikipedia has some info...

      The magnetic field of a magnetar would be lethal even at a distance of 1000 km, tearing tissues due to the diamagnetism of water.

      Since magnetars rotate, I would guess that a person would probably be vaporized before being torn apart since you'd be travelling through magnetic flux fields. Such powerful fields have unusual effects on matter...

      X-ray photons readily split in two or merge together. The vacuum itself is polarized, becoming strongly birefringent, like a calcite crystal. Atoms are deformed into long cylinders thinner than the quantum-relativistic wavelength of an electron.

      In a field of about 105 teslas atomic orbitals deform into cigar shapes. At 1010 teslas, a hydrogen atom becomes a spindle 200 times narrower than its normal diameter.

      I think the most powerful field ever generated in a lab was less than 200 tesla.

    18. Re:Pssst! by morethanapapercert · · Score: 2, Informative
      I would have to venture a guess and say that there *must* be some upper limit on the number of Gauss a human body can be subjected to before physiological changes are noticed. Whatever that upper limit is though, it is far more powerful than anything you are likely to be exposed to on Earth. MRI machines expose you to fields of 5,000 to 30,000 Gauss. From Wikipedia and other sources I came up with the following values for common sources of magnetic flux energy: Earth's magnetic field .5 Gauss

      small iron magnet 100 Gauss

      small neodymium magnet 2,000 Gauss

      big electromagnet 15,000 Gauss

      Current FDA safety limit 80,000 Gauss (as of 2003)

      World's most powerful MRI 94,000 Gauss (Uni of Illinois, makes the sodium ions flip instead of the water molecules. In testing, subjects noted odd sensations while being moved into the field, but once stationary the effects went away)

      surface of a neutron star 10^12G (1,000,000,000,000 Gauss)

      --
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    19. Re:Pssst! by The_Wilschon · · Score: 2, Informative

      they get ripped straight out into the bore as soon as you pass the .5 Gauss line. I think you must have meant .5 Tesla, as .5 Gauss is approximately the strength of the Earth's magnetic field.
      --
      SIGSEGV caught, terminating

      wait... not that kind of sig.
    20. Re:Pssst! by reverseengineer · · Score: 4, Informative
      The 16 Tesla field used to levitate that frog is towards the upper end of the field strength that can be safely tolerated for any duration by most organisms. A static magnetic field of 20T or more can interfere with enzymatic processes, and above 25T can interfere with nerve conduction. Pulsed magnetic fields can be considerably more dangerous at a given field strength, because they can induce eddy currents in the body which can cause cardiac arrhythmias, but you're still looking at around the 10T range unless your heart is particularly vulnerable.

      In contrast, the 10^11T field of a magnetar would tear you to pieces even several thousand km away, and then tear those pieces into smaller, grotesquely elongated pieces, as the field strength is enough to distort the geometries of atomic orbitals. What would of course actually kill you on your way to a magnetar are the X-rays and gamma rays the thing throws out, and these forms of radiation should be considered among the effects of a cosmically strong magnetic field. However, assuming you could survive those, the magnetic field itself would still instantly kill you. A particular problem is that your body is made up of many different kinds of atoms and molecules, which will be affected by the intense field differently depending on whether they are ions, have a dipole moment, etc., so that you will in a literal sense be disintegrated.

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
    21. Re:Pssst! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      For a while we swapped memes and were happy. But then the pedants arrived.

      --
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    22. Re:Pssst! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 5, Informative

      He meant the 5 Gauss line. It's not enough to rip things off you, but you can stick paper clips to the wall. Or erase all the credit cards in your pocket.

    23. Re:Pssst! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Interesting that we can generate a field strong enough to noticeably deform atomic orbitals.

    24. Re:Pssst! by Repton · · Score: 3, Funny

      I didn't think it was possible to have less than a Brazilian...

      --
      Repton.
      They say that only an experienced wizard can do the tengu shuffle.
    25. Re:Pssst! by Plazmid · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, we don't have any data on it, however, a scientist who stuck his head in a giant magnet(for science) described an acidy taste in his mouth.

    26. Re:Pssst! by bgd73 · · Score: 1

      I believe magnetic fields do harm human. Todays operations leaving metallic bone rebuilders, or even long term exposure with metal particles. I am one of those people that had metal inside my leg after an operation. I went into several bizarre phenomonas related to my pc.....and this is the megnetic part...because of the hdd. To this day I have dos and donts normal pc repair people would frown at me over, if to discuss my silent hee bee gee bees. Hey speaking of magnets. Why does the hard drive kick my heat on only when it is 80 degrees in the room already...the mercury thermostat is as far from a connecting point as it gets when the room is 80F. Why why why. I know its the hard drive. I know it has something to do with magnetics gone in a line....if to add laymens terms.And I know seconds before it happens...it even kicks the ide off entirely sometimes. Now back to star sized magnetic fields' stories and relation to humans safety. PS: I will drop dead before you get me to take an mri. AMEN - that has something to do with my religion...

    27. Re:Pssst! by mrrudge · · Score: 1

      I think that would be a 'Hollywood', a brazilian leaves a little stripe.

    28. Re:Pssst! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Minor tingling or heat sensations of the extremities is considered not harmful.
      I take it that you're not the owner of a "mobile phone radiation shield." Except perhaps, as a condom holder or some similar useful use.
      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    29. Re:Pssst! by Genda · · Score: 1

      Actually field strength is an inverse function of distance like any of the other forces in the universe.

      If you were to get close to such an intense magnetic field... say 10,000 kilometers... the force would begin to pull the iron out of your hemoglobin right through your tissue. Get a bit closer, say 100 kilomoters... the field would be so intense that the electron clouds surrounding your atoms would be smeared over a considerable distance, in other words your constituent atomic particles would begin to dissociate and the matter of which your compose ionize. This would be not so good for you...

      Magnetars also experience star quakes as the spin up insanely intense fields and shatter the neutron stars of which they're composed. When this happens, the generate all kinds of interesting noise including in all likelihood massive gravity waves. These are wierd but fascinating objects.

    30. Re:Pssst! by meringuoid · · Score: 2, Informative
      Interesting that we can generate a field strong enough to noticeably deform atomic orbitals.

      We can't. Copying and pasting from Wikipedia loses the superscript: that was 10^5 Tesla. Ten thousand Tesla. Way beyond our current capabilities :-)

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    31. Re:Pssst! by Ihlosi · · Score: 1

      If you were to get close to such an intense magnetic field... say 10,000 kilometers... the force would begin to pull the iron out of your hemoglobin right through your tissue.

      Bzzt. Sorry, single atoms of iron, or compounds containing iron, usually do not exhibit ferromanetism. The much, much weaker effects of dia- and paramagnetism apply here.

    32. Re:Pssst! by notabaggins · · Score: 1

      million billion times stronger than the magnetic field of the Earth In cgs units, that's about 0.5 PG (petagauss) or, in SI, 50 GT (gigatesla). Definitely watch your credit cards around that one. But watch them what? Rocket outta your wallet, blast through the bridge and scorch Kirk's toupe?
    33. Re:Pssst! by Bloodoflethe · · Score: 1

      The UK technically stopped that a while back (i.e. before I was born). The question is not, however, which country uses the system, rather does this person use the system?

      Using short-scale terms: are we talking quadrillion or quintillion here?

      --
      "Little is much when little you need."
    34. Re:Pssst! by Bloodoflethe · · Score: 1

      [You would die horribly.] This would be not so good for you... Somehow I agree with this. >
      --
      "Little is much when little you need."
    35. Re:Pssst! by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our berating pedant overlords.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    36. Re:Pssst! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 1

      That makes much more sense.

    37. Re:Pssst! by Iridium_Hack · · Score: 1

      As long as space tourists don't wear metal belt buckles, everything should be all right. If not, What the! Ouch! Whooaahh!

    38. Re:Pssst! by polyex · · Score: 1

      I feel like I am reading a transcript of the History Channel "The Universe" program, where almost every astronomical event that would cause harm to a human or the earth is described in agonizing detail. I don't see this as much in Science shows from other countries, although there are exceptions but it seems they are more influenced from the American shows. Is this a requirement for Americans to have an interest in a Science subject, ripping bodies apart and blowing up the Earth? Are we all 12 years old? I am not trying to start a big argument here, but I noticed this trend and how sort of obsessed american "science" shows are with it. I am however sick of it on "The Universe" from History Channel. I could care less what would happen to earth if a massive black hole sucked it in. I suppose it does help with understanding the scale of this stuff, but I don't think its the motive.

    39. Re:Pssst! by kalirion · · Score: 1

      So how large must the magnetic field be to rip the iron out of a person's red blood cells?

    40. Re:Pssst! by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Isn't there some way to block a magnetic field (with a material that won't itself become magnetized)?

    41. Re:Pssst! by reverseengineer · · Score: 1
      Is this a requirement for Americans to have an interest in a Science subject, ripping bodies apart and blowing up the Earth?

      Maybe I should feel ashamed for fitting your stereotype so well, but I must admit that aspect of science has always fascinated me (and yes, I am American). With physics and astronomy, I suppose I can argue that it gives me a sense of the scale of the forces involved, but really, it's the same thing in more terrestrial scale sciences- I'm a biochemist IRL, and frankly, toxicology and pathology are really interesting to me as well. I just find it amazing that things like magnetars and black holes and bone-dissolving acids and filoviruses exist in nature.

      I'll agree that sometimes the popular science coverage of many topics tends to be sensationalist, assuming the audience will only be interested in astrophysics or microbiology if their potential to cause human catastrophe is described in lurid detail. There may well be something psychologically profound in fascination many Americans have at the prospect of their own annihilation.

      The original question posed, however, was "Can anyone tell me what the effects of ultra-strong magnetic fields would be on a living creature?" I found the question intriguing, did some research, and reported back my findings: gruesome death. Now, if a magnetar were to collide with the earth....

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
    42. Re:Pssst! by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      and the only thing that is a problem is metal in, on or around the body, they get ripped straight out into the bore as soon as you pass the .5 Gauss line.

      Erm ... no. Most metals are not ferromagnetic, and therefore will not be ripped anywhere by a magnetic field.

      The other precaution is when body parts form loops (like crossed arms or legs or arms/hands holding other body parts) they could potentially cause electric shocks and minor burns.

      *citation needed*

      I've never heard about anything like that despite having had numerous MRI scans in the last 25 years. It should be easy to cross-check that with the law for electromagnetic induction. A conducting loop experiencing a static magnetic field will not have any current induced, and I believe given the parameters (magnetic field strength, usual areas formed by human appendages, usual human movement speeds, electric resistance of the human body), the induced currents would be way below the level needed to cause shocks and burns. Things might be different if the MRI machine has to undergo an emergency shutdown and and the magnetic field goes from 3T to 0T in a short time. That might induce quite a bit of current.

    43. Re:Pssst! by guruevi · · Score: 1

      I meant ferromagnetic metals as that is what most people think about. We just say metal in our environment and we have to check in any case with a doctor for any type of metal (like titanium implants) to see if they're mri-safe or mri-compatible. The precaution part comes straight out of our safety documentation from Siemens, I know it usually doesn't do anything but I'm not about to test it either.

      --
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  4. not a ring by datapharmer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What ring? It just looks out of focus to me.

    --
    Get a web developer
    1. Re:not a ring by Pollardito · · Score: 4, Informative

      the ring is the empty looking space to the right of the star. the picture is kind of misleading because it seems like they're talking about a ring around that star, but the ring is instead circling an invisible object that's near it: "The magnetar itself is not visible in this image, as it has not been detected at infrared wavelengths (it has been seen in X-ray light)."

    2. Re:not a ring by khallow · · Score: 1

      It could be a jet coming from the magnetar and running into nearby gas. If the axis of rotation for the star is almost in line with us and the jet shoots somewhere off center, then that could explain the well off-center ring. Another thing is that it appears to me that there's actually a pair of rings, the one to the right and one which appears to be around the bright star in the center. That might indicate a pair of jets in more or less opposite directions.

  5. I for one welcome . . . by StefanJ · · Score: 4, Funny

    . . . whoever the hell ran weapon tests on that star and its planets.

    Hail Whoever!

    1. Re:I for one welcome . . . by pembo13 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Who said it was a test?

      --
      "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    2. Re:I for one welcome . . . by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      That's not actually a ring, it's a tight spiral made of metal.

      I, for one, welcome our magnetar-harnessing electricity-generation overlords.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:I for one welcome . . . by Rams�s+Morales · · Score: 1

      Highly unlikely, but could be.

    4. Re:I for one welcome . . . by xbytor · · Score: 1

      My first thought on reading this was "3001: The Final Odyssey".

    5. Re:I for one welcome . . . by notabaggins · · Score: 1

      . . . whoever the hell ran weapon tests on that star and its planets.

      Hail Whoever! Nah, they're building a giant electric generator for peaceful purposes.

      Honest!
  6. Link with pic by IronChef · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2008-08/release.shtml

    1. Re:Link with pic by tulmad · · Score: 2, Informative

      Uhh, the link the summary has a link to the pic as well It's right at the top of the article...

      --
      "In case of emergency, break glass. Scream. Bleed to death."
    2. Re:Link with pic by AnotherUsername · · Score: 1

      Well, obviously he had to pass on the image so that he would not die in 7 days...

      --
      I don't like Linux. This doesn't make me a troll.
  7. why oh why by thermian · · Score: 4, Funny

    As soon as I read the summary I immediately thought 'Intergalactic Goatse'.

    I need less internets.

    --
    A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
    1. Re:why oh why by mangu · · Score: 1

      I immediately thought 'Intergalactic Goatse'

      Just wait for the the "Uranus ring" jokes!
  8. Wait a second by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I think I've been reading /. too much...
    For I moment I was wondering what Dark Vader is up to now, putting a new secret ring weapon on his Death Star!

  9. Ringworld? by spineboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cool!, now we just need a General Products hull # 4 sufficient for colonization. Except that the damn star is dead.

    --
    ..........FULL STOP.
    1. Re:Ringworld? by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dear Partners and VARS,

      The following is privileged information as described by your General Products N.D.A. and is not to be transmitted to customers or third parties.

      while our General Products Hulls including the #4 provide protection against most hazards encountered in interstellar travel, gravitational tides with a steep gradient such as those found in the vicinity of neutron stars including magnetars can in fact cause bodily harm to occupants while not damaging or voiding warranty on the hull, e.g. rendering of tissues/organs to pulp or plasma.

      Also, although not widely advertised, antimatter may destroy a G.P. hull completely, and void the warranty, service agreements and maintenance contracts.

      We are not putting out any bulletins to customers or potential clients at this time, and partners only are to communicate any issues or incidents to our Hindmost and Vice Hindmost Partner's Relationship Manager, but going forward G.P. will deal with any occurrences on a case by base basis.

      Yours Very Truly,

      Messus, HTO, General Products

    2. Re:Ringworld? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Wait, I did not know that antimatter could destroy a General Products hull.

    3. Re:Ringworld? by jd · · Score: 1

      What amazed me was not that antimatter could destroy a GP hull, but that the main character who happened to be in said hull at the time was still more-or-less intact afterwards (as opposed to becoming a thin veneer over the cosmic background radiation).

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    4. Re:Ringworld? by pndmnm · · Score: 1

      (This is from memory -- forgive me my errors.) A General Products hull is composed of a single molecule artificially strengthened with generated fields. If it comes in contact with enough antimatter to destroy a "sufficient" number of the atoms in the molecule, the hull will essentially unravel. Prior to the "most interesting planet" incident, GP did not believe that there was antimatter present in sufficient quantities in our galaxy to initiate such a reaction.

    5. Re:Ringworld? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      So what you are saying is . . it was not widely advertised?

    6. Re:Ringworld? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      It was still a vacuum around the planet and star so not much antimatter was involved. Pelton and Shaeffer were in space suits with their helmets located in close proximity at Shaeffer's insistence. His pilot training included being exceedingly cautious around unexplained anomalies. Because the hull disintegrated as one piece, there were no bulkheads to get thrown into and no flying debris. The radiation hazard could be handled by the extension bubble until they moved out of range.

    7. Re:Ringworld? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Messus, HTO, General Products

      Nessus. Not Messus.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    8. Re:Ringworld? by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      nope, different bloke; that's a two-headed horse of another color

    9. Re:Ringworld? by MrMr · · Score: 1

      I envy you; You still have a known-space story to read (Flatlander).
      Oh wait, or perhaps I don't, because you suffer from amnesia...

    10. Re:Ringworld? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      I guess Luis Wu's father did not tell him that story either.

  10. Did anyone else think of this... by c0ol · · Score: 1

    http://www.dota-allstars.com/hero/1916/index.html

  11. I must be tired by Daimanta · · Score: 2, Funny

    I read it as "Ghosttly Ring found circling Death Star". I got strange thoughts in the 3 seconds in the 3 seconds after I read that sentence.

    --
    Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    1. Re:I must be tired by Vegeta99 · · Score: 1

      Ma Bell is back. And this time, she's pissed.

    2. Re:I must be tired by Concerned+Onlooker · · Score: 1

      "I got strange thoughts in the 3 seconds in the 3 seconds after I read that sentence."

      Did you also get that strange feeling that you'd seen it before?

      --
      http://www.rootstrikers.org/
  12. L. Ron Hubbard nemesis by wardk · · Score: 1

    OMG the ring is back!

    time for another round of postcards and seminars, it must be defeated at all costs....

  13. Rings aren't that uncommon! by pacroon · · Score: 1

    I am betting it is the usual debris from explosions like most other cases. Just like it is Saturn. Many planets actually have them, even Jupitor, Uranus and Neptune in our own solar system! Though Saturn's the most famous one.

    --
    It's all fun & games until someone loses the game.
  14. Luck by AikonMGB · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quick, assemble the luckiest people our civilization has to offer!

    Aikon-
    1. Re:Luck by IdeaMan · · Score: 1

      Now you know why they're making the lottery state run.
      They'll "test" it out on the homeless first, then those that are in financial difficulties, then when they complain they'll migrate it to the rest of us. The rich which had been getting away with it by flying out to some remote island somewhere will become criminals because "they gotta follow the same rules as the rest of us." After a coupla centuries of that we'll have people lucky enough.
      </tinfoilhat>

      (If you don't get the above go read the Rama novels)

      --
      They ARE out to get you simply because They are in it for themselves and they don't care about you.
  15. ...But is it polarized? by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

    What I want to know is whether a ring in that kind of magnetic field has a strong polarity. And I hope nobody tries sending out metal-based probes to find out.

    1. Re:...But is it polarized? by ILuvRamen · · Score: 1

      if it was it would either get sucked in instantly or fly way the hell far away depending on polarity. I suppose gravity could equalize with magnetism at a certain distance and hold the ring there with opposing poliarity to the star in theory but if I remember correctly, the poles of the magnetar are crazy and move around all over so it would push and pull on it until it either got sucked in or pushed too far away. It must be nuetral.

      --
      Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
  16. Dyson sphere ? by LeMalin · · Score: 1

    Can it be one ?

    1. Re:Dyson sphere ? by fred+fleenblat · · Score: 1

      Would you settle for a dyson ball?

    2. Re:Dyson sphere ? by LeMalin · · Score: 1

      anything bigger than a kardashev scale 2 civilization will do...

    3. Re:Dyson sphere ? by L33THa0R69 · · Score: 1

      It could be a force field designed to keep hostile aliens in. Perhaps we are best not to investigate to hurriedly.

    4. Re:Dyson sphere ? by LeMalin · · Score: 1

      maybe it's the hybrid from Predator vs Alien ???

    5. Re:Dyson sphere ? by fred+fleenblat · · Score: 1

      I give you the most advanced artifact of our civilization, The Dyson Ball Vacuum:

      http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41M4H7CDAML._SS400_.jpg

  17. Million billion? by Aaron+Denney · · Score: 1

    What, they don't expect people to understand "quadrillion"?

    1. Re:Million billion? by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      What, they don't expect people to understand "quadrillion"?

      10^12 is far too big for the average scientist to understand - oh wait.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    2. Re:Million billion? by pclminion · · Score: 1

      I "understand" that a quadrillion is 10^15, but it's not a number on a scale I typically work with. On the other hand, I'm very used to dealing with the quantities "billion" and "million" -- we encounter and interact with such quantities every day when using technology. So I can actually start to imagine what a "million billion" is by comparing it with quantities I have already internalized. "Quadrillion" is more abstract. The only thing that immediately comes to mind is "really damn large number."

      I actually appreciate having numbers broken down this way, and will often do it myself when dealing with large quantities.

    3. Re:Million billion? by aadvancedGIR · · Score: 1

      It's Roland we're talking about, he only understands numbers if you add the words "clicks" or "visitors".

    4. Re:Million billion? by trongey · · Score: 1

      ... chose to use the term "million billion" because people generally hear/see those words in every day life... ... and interpret them differently depending on where they live.
      So did you choose to use the short scale or long scale version of billion? Are we talking about 10^6 x 10^9 or 10^6 x 10^12?
      --
      You never really know how close to the edge you can go until you fall off.
  18. Re:(As if this would be any different...) by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 4, Funny

    i.e., all of slashdot.

  19. Halo? by euxneks · · Score: 1

    Ah crap. I read the article and it's just some cosmological events.. I was kind of hoping it would be a construct like HALO or ringworld.. =) Ah well..

    --
    in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
    1. Re:Halo? by jd · · Score: 1

      The title does, in fact, refer to movie-edition Ming The Merciless' ring, which was found encompassing a micro-miniaturized Hollywood celebrity.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  20. Re:It's the Ringworld! by Phydeaux314 · · Score: 1

    Great. Does that mean the Man-Kzin wars are coming? I have to invest in catnip futures...

    --
    Never underestimate the stupidity inherent in all human beings.
  21. Constellation... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny
    So far, about a dozen magnetars have been found.

    Most are in the constellation "Refrigetar".

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  22. Another Spitzer Ring Discovery Link by Ilan+Volow · · Score: 1

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/nyregion/10cnd-spitzer.html?ref=nyregion

    --
    Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
  23. magnetism by CoriolisSTORM · · Score: 1

    does this mean we are going to see some effects similar to those theorized about magnetism affecting time and space?

  24. I AM SINISTAR by Curunir_wolf · · Score: 1

    Beware! I live!

    --
    "Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
    --- Jerry Garcia
    1. Re:I AM SINISTAR by Bloodoflethe · · Score: 1

      So you're the one on the left side?

      --
      "Little is much when little you need."
  25. Re:Not Ringworld, it is a smoke ring. by Nimey · · Score: 1

    The Smoke Ring was the first thing I thought of as well.

    --
    Hail Eris, full of mischief...

    E pluribus sanguinem
  26. Update by shadowbearer · · Score: 1

    We will pay off all warranties and contracts effective of the date of this message, as we are leaving the galaxy. Please forward any correspondence to Messus@earth.gov.

      Thank you for you business, and we look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

      Sincerely

      Messus

    --
    It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
  27. Actually chin by unity100 · · Score: 1

    In a recent battle, Judge Dredd lost his immense jaw to Dementor. He is not able to reguritate since, causing him to lose some weight.

    --
    Read radical news here
  28. This could be a rich source of eezo by DragonTHC · · Score: 1

    Could be good, but how do we get there to collect the eezo?

    --
    They're using their grammar skills there.
  29. But it's a hell of a commute by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1

    I don't think I'll be sending my resume.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  30. Sing Along With Me - You All Know The Words by Crypto+Gnome · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I fell in to a burning ring of fire
    I went down,down,down
    and the flames went higher.
    And it burns,burns,burns
    the ring of fire
    the ring of fire.

    With thanks to Johnny!

    --
    Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
  31. A million billion? by jandersen · · Score: 1

    Somehow it irritates me when articles like this start talking baby language; surely, if a person is clever enough to be interested in science, they are able to understand or quickly learn about a notation like "10^15"?

  32. Defer to the Americans by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 1

    More Americans speak English than English speak English, go figure.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    1. Re:Defer to the Americans by Machine9 · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure I'd call the language most americans speak "english" anymore...

      --

      Machine9dotNet

  33. It might come in handy by Cannelloni · · Score: 1

    You could use it as a giant paper clip holder, or to stick bits of paper to a very large refrigerator.

    --
    Beauty is in the beholder of the eye.
  34. Sounds like... by Aegis+Runestone · · Score: 1

    You should never take your harddrive to these magnetars. >.>

    *ZAP*

    --
    -Aegis Runestone-
  35. Re:What are these scientists thinking about? by Torvaun · · Score: 2, Funny

    Young, hot stars, for one.
    Blowjobs for another.

    --
    I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
  36. Sci fi chemistry like deep ocean "smokers" by Fallen+Andy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In a field of about 105 teslas atomic orbitals deform into cigar shapes. At 1010 teslas, a hydrogen atom becomes a spindle 200 times narrower than its normal diameter.

    I think the most powerful field ever generated in a lab was less than 200 tesla.

    Which sort of implies that some *really* weird chemistry might be possible. Chemistry that simply wouldn't happen under more normal conditions. Cue the Sci Fi stories...

    Andy

    1. Re:Sci fi chemistry like deep ocean "smokers" by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      Atomic Tesla vs. Mansquito?

      Oh, excuse me, I thought you said SciFi Channel stories.

      My bad.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
  37. Re:(As if this would be any different...) by Jarik_Tentsu · · Score: 1

    i.e., all of slashdot. Wait, people actually RTFA? O_O
  38. That's no moon by wick3t · · Score: 1

    The ghostly ring is obviously Obi-Wan following Luke around the trench run. Did none of you hear him say "Use the force Luke"?

  39. Great... by _14k4 · · Score: 1

    Now we are certain the galactic core is exploding...

    1. Re:Great... by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Nah, our universe's Milky Way has a black hole for a core. I gather that black holes don't exist in the Known Space universe.

    2. Re:Great... by _14k4 · · Score: 1

      True true... maybe _that_ galactic core is the one that's asploding. :P

  40. "Pulsed magnetic fields" by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
    Pulsed magnetic fields ...



    a.k.a. electromagnetic radiation. A "pulsed magnetic field" can be anything from RF to microwaves to visible light to gamma rays.

    1. Re:"Pulsed magnetic fields" by reverseengineer · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I was trying to specifically refer to devices like these that deliver high fields that last a matter of microseconds, but you and Maxwell are of course correct about the oscillating field associated with EM radiation.

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
  41. Re:(As if this would be any different...) by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 1

    No, but we like to click on the links and look at the pretty flash ads. Hence the /. effect.

  42. Does That Mean My Wife Will Start Nagging Me? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

    After all, she did this morning when she found "Ghostly Ring Found Circling Bath Tub".

    --
    Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
  43. Time enough for love by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    > An international team of scientists has found a strange ring around a dead star

    Hmmmm. That light was much, much faster in the past explains why light billions of light years away could have gotten here in less than 6,000 years. But how could a star have lived and died in that short of a time (even neglecting travel time of the light)?

    Perhaps time ran faster in the past, too!

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  44. Re:The ring Ghostly Ring? by davidsyes · · Score: 1

    Imagine when they find a "ring around Uranus"... Being THAT close, would Uranus be a "ring around da collar"?

    --
    Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
  45. Moving along... by MeiliD · · Score: 1

    I wish our science was far enough long that we could actually GO there to look at it. While, I think our endeavors at the moon and Mars are good, I think we need to look farther. Why don't we work more fervently at getting there, than focusing on "was there as some point in existence life there?" If we focus on being able to live there and travel farther, we may find a LOT more interesting things in my opinion.