Re: Fixing supernovae

Michael S. Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Thu, 24 Jun 1999 15:57:08 -0400

John Clark wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> It's probably nothing but there has been talk in the astronomical community recently
> about something called a hypernova, it only happens to the very largest stars and is
> 100 to 1000 times as powerful as a supernova. There is also a new theory that
> associates hypernovas with gamma ray bursts. Eta Carinae is a huge star, the largest
> in our galaxy, I read in the June 11 1999 issue of the journal "Science" that in the last
> few months it has been acting up in a very odd fashion that may be the
> precursor to a much larger explosion. I wouldn't want to be closer than 100
> million light years to a gamma ray burst, I don't remember how far away
> Eta Carinae is but I know it's less than that. One good thing (good for me not
> for our friends in OZ), Eta Carinae is only visible in the southern hemisphere.

Considering that our galaxy is only 100,000 light years across, and Andromeda Galaxy is only 2 million light years away, your 100 million LY is a bit of a stretch...

--
TANSTAAFL!!!

Michael S. Lorrey
Owner, Lorrey Systems
http://www.lorrey.com
ArtLocate.Com
http://www.artlocate.com
Director, Grafton County Fish & Game Assoc.
http://www.lorrey.com/gcfga/
Member, Extropy Institute
http://www.extropy.org
Member, National Rifle Association
http://www.nra.org
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                  - General John Stark