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Fifth Anniversary of a Cosmic Onslaught

The Bad Astronomer writes "Five years ago today (December 27, 2004), a vast wave of high-energy gamma and X-rays washed over the Earth, blinding satellites and partially ionizing the Earth's atmosphere. The culprit was a superflare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20, located 50,000 light years away. The energy released was mind-numbing: in one-fifth of a second, this supercharged magnetic neutron star blasted out as much energy as the Sun does in 250,000 years!"

2 of 162 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Zero warning by Mitchell314 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    No, some places on earth have an advantage. They're a little farther awa

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    I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
  2. Re:Frist Post! by jandoedel · · Score: 0, Redundant

    no, it should actually go up to 11