Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

North Star May Be Wasting Away

Posted by Soulskill on from the julius-caesar-wanted-to-go-on-a-diet dept.

sciencehabit writes "The North Star, a celestial beacon to navigators for centuries, may be slowly shrinking, according to a new analysis of more than 160 years of observations. The data suggest that the familiar fixture in the northern sky is shedding an Earth's mass worth of gas each year."

11 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Polaris must be losing nearly the equivalent of Earth's mass—or a little under a millionth of its own mass—each year,

    In a little over a million years, we won't be able to use that particular star to navigate any more. IT'LL BE CHAOS!

    1. Re:Oh my god! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Vega is a fucking space ghetto. I don't want to point to that part of the celestial neighborhood.

    2. Re:Oh my god! by SpryGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, except that over that same time period, we'll be experiencing a reversal of the poles, and the accompaning period of magnetic flux that would make magnetic compasses rather useless.

      --

      - Spryguy
      There are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can't
    3. Re:Oh my god! by jamstar7 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Vega is a fucking space ghetto. I don't want to point to that part of the celestial neighborhood.

      I thought that was where the Mother Thing was from? Doesn't sound like a ghetto... Wormface and company were from the ghetto.

      Problem is, what comes from Vega are Vegans. If they invade, no more leather, no more steaks. We'll be reduced to eating vegetables and tofu forever and ever and ever, amen

      Course, the upside is, we'll produce plenty of methane, so it might help with the energy crunch, though I kinda doubt it'll be comfortable walking around with a gas pipe up my ass. Maybe that's why the aliens are so into anal probing...

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  2. Pivot point by Lev13than · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's probably losing all that mass due to heat from friction. It must be under tremendous pressure, seeing as how the entire night sky pivots on that single point. Long-term this will have huge consequences - when the North Star finally wears through completely the entire universe will ricochet off into nothingness like a spinning top.

    --
    When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
    1. Re:Pivot point by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's probably losing all that mass due to heat from friction. It must be under tremendous pressure, seeing as how the entire night sky pivots on that single point. Long-term this will have huge consequences - when the North Star finally wears through completely the entire universe will ricochet off into nothingness like a spinning top.

      Not to worry. Once we get our booster technology straightened out, we can send up a big can of WD-40.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Pivot point by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't forget the turtle wax.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  3. Thank God! by johnvile · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thank God its not shedding the amount of gas a politician evacuates each year. It would be barley visible.

    --
    "What Are They Gonna Do When Were All Using Freenet"
    1. Re:Thank God! by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 4, Funny

      Thank God its not shedding the amount of gas a politician evacuates each year. It would be barley visible.

      I know right! And then wheat would we do?

      --
      Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
    2. Re:Thank God! by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 4, Funny

      I apologise for that; I have a very rye sense of humour.

      --
      Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
  4. Re:Damn... by mark-t · · Score: 4, Funny

    Indeed... everyone knows that the first magnets fell to earth from that star, which is why it always experienced a small tug in that direction. Future magnets inherited this trait by mimicking the original magnets' functionality, which was to adhere strongly to certain types of metals.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'