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Stellar Blast Boils Away Some of a Planet's Atmosphere
The Bad Astronomer writes "Using a combination of Hubble and Swift observations, astronomers have apparently witnessed some of a planet's atmosphere being peeled away by a powerful stellar blast. HD 189733b orbits its star just 4 million km from the surface, and a few hours after Swift detected a big X-ray flare from the star, Hubble data revealed a big jump in hydrogen absorption as the planet transited the star. This indicates the planet's atmosphere was blasted off by the flare to the tune of a thousand tons of hydrogen per second. The planet is so hot it probably already loses a substantial amount of air to space all the time, but this spike is the first time a change in an exoplanet's atmosphere has been detected."
"The planet is so hot it probably already loses a substantial amount of air to space all the time."
What is this "air" they are talking about?
4 million km is roughly 0.02 AU or 1/10th the mean distance of Mercury from the Sun
It someone got that close to me, I'd let them have it too.
...or the last lifeboat of the Splugorthian empire disintegrating in a desperate attempt to evacuate the brave historians who dared to save their Elranythic relics?
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
The next morning the skies are on fire from the solar flare. John fights his way through the chaotic streets of Boston, arriving at his estranged father's home. They embrace as the solar flare burns away the atmosphere and incinerates the surface of the Earth, destroying all life on the planet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowing_(film)#Plot
When stars go supernova, they sometimes release large Gamma Ray Bursts which are far more devastating to an atmosphere than X-rays. GRBs can cover great distances too. Currently a star named WR 104 which is 8000 light years from earth seems to be pointing straight at us. If it goes GRB when it explodes, we may be in for trouble. There's enough energy there (even at that insance distance) to cause wide spread extinction on the planet.
Interestingly enough, it may have already happened but the light from it, and/or the GRB, hasn't gotten here yet.
http://www.space.com/5081-real-death-star-strike-earth.html
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Just means this one comes pre-nuked-from-orbit so we can move right in.
Planet: "Man I'm hot."
Sun: "Aww sorry. Would you like me to cool you down?"
Planet: "Yes, please!"
Sun: *faaaaart*
Planet: "GAH no you asshole!"
Sun: "Hahahahaha dweeb!"
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
You know that is probably the single greatest benefit of being a Jedi. You could pass the nastiest gas in a crowded elevator (turbo lift, whatever) and just wave your hands and nobody would remember you did it.
Well, you have to have the real story, then it makes sense.
Popular version: Genesis 1:31-2:2
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
This, however, is just revisionist history of what really happened, which includes a massive pool party on the night of the 6th day, a marathon game of billiards with a near infinite sized table, 12.7 gallons of corn liquor per entity, 4 very large turtles, a giraffe in a paisley tutu, a 14 hour raid in EQ that never made it past the first room (not enough healers, too many rangers), jello shots off someone that may, or may not have been related to Marie Osmond, 3 hours of some nameless entity playing the intro cords to Sweet Home Alabama over and over again, 19 hours constant play of Blondie's "Glass Houses" album, and 14 minutes under the covers with this hot chick (after the aforementioned alcohol had been consumed) named Billy Bob.
So, as you can see, there may very well have been a point, but everyone still has too big of a hangover to make out what exactly that point might have been.
And let me tell you, that seventh morning God had to end his work and rest cause absolutely no one in his condition could do anything after that fiasco, except Billy Bob, who had left earlier than anyone else had woke up... for which they were all thank full, and vowed never to speak of again.
Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's