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Largest Star Known To Humankind Might Go Supernova Anytime.
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Trey replied on Sat Nov 28, 2009 @ 1:24am |
 Coolness: 103690 | Friday, 27 November 2009 [ news.bbc.co.uk ] "The death throes of the biggest star known to science have been observed by Europe's new space telescope, Herschel. The observatory, launched in May, has subjected VY Canis Majoris, to a detailed spectroscopic analysis... ... Its end days see it spew vast quantities of gas and dust into interstellar space, including elements such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen - the raw materials that will go into the production of future planets, and, who knows, perhaps life elsewhere in the galaxy. " [ herschel.esac.esa.int ] "VY Canis Majoris - the largest known star VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is a red hypergiant evolved star located in the constellation Canis Major ('Greater Dog'). With a size of 2600 solar radii, it is the largest known star and also one of the most luminous ones. It is located about 4900 light years away from Earth, has a luminosity in excess of 105 solar luminosities, a mass in the range 30-40 solar masses, and a mass-loss rate of 2x10-4 solar masses per year. The shell of gas it has ejected displays a complex structure, the so-created circumstellar envelope is among the most remarkable chemical laboratories known in the universe, creating a rich set of organic and inorganic molecules and dust species. Through stellar winds, these inorganic and organic compounds are injected into the interstellar medium, from which new stars orbited by new planets may form. Most of the carbon supporting life on planet Earth was forged by this kind of evolved star. VY CMa truly is a spectacular object, it is close to the end of its life and could explode as a supernova at any time. PACS spectrum of VY Canis Majoris SPIRE spectrum and SPIRE camera map of VY Canis Majoris Figure 1. VY CMa, a red supergiant star near the end of its life, which is ejecting huge quantities of gas and dust into interstellar space. Left: PACS spectrum (in red) between 50 and 210 µm. In grey, the observation of the ISO Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) is displayed (with an offset of -0.5). Background Hubble Space Telescope image in the optical and near-infrared wavelength as obtained by Smith et al. 2001. The inset shows a zoom into the 156 to 172 micrometer wavelength range. In this short wavelength region, 44 different molecular lines are identified (see coloured thick marks). Right: A portion of the SPIRE spectrum; the inset is a SPIRE camera map of VY CMa, in which it appears as a bright compact source near the edge of a large extended cloud. VY CMa has been observed by Herschel using both PACS and SPIRE, producing a full survey of its spectrum between 55 and 670 µm (Fig. 1). Herschel, with its unprecedented sensitivity, spatial and spectral resolution in the far-infrared, can detect the "fingerprints", i.e., the spectral lines of the chemical species produced in the gas expelled by this star, revealing an amazingly rich spectrum with hundreds of features due to a variety of different atoms and molecules. In the PACS spectrum of VY CMa (Fig. 1 left, red) between 50 and 220 µm, thanks to its excellent signal-to-noise ratio, even the weakest spectral features can be identified (see inset). A comparison with data obtained by the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS, in grey) which was on board the ESA Infrared Space Observatory (ISO, 1995-1998) demonstrates the great advances made possible with Herschel and PACS in studying the complex chemistry in this highly evolved phase which is at the end of its "life" as a star. The SPIRE spectrum, a portion of which is shown (Fig. 1 right), has prominent features from carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O). More than 200 other spectral features have also been identified so far in the full spectrum, and several unidentified features are also being investigated. Many of the features are due to water, showing that the star is surrounded by large quantities of hot steam. Observations like these will help to establish a detailed picture of the mass loss from stars and the complex chemistry occurring in their extended envelopes. As in all of the SPIRE spectra, the underlying emission increases towards shorter wavelengths, and is due to the emission from dust grains. The shape of the dust spectrum provides information on the properties of the dust. In the PACS spectral range, more than 400 spectral lines of which more than 270 are water lines have been detected. The envelope of VY CMa resembles nuclear power plants on Earth, where water is used to cool the environment of the central engine. To see what a badass VY Canis Majoris is, check this video. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ also, cool pic animation from Cassini of Saturn's northern lights (their height is estimate to 1 200 km tall) [ www.nasa.gov ] [ www.nasa.gov ] |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Deadfunk replied on Mon Nov 30, 2009 @ 8:10am |
 Coolness: 153930 | HOLY SHIT ! |
| I'm feeling hardcore right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» cvxn replied on Mon Nov 30, 2009 @ 2:50pm |
 Coolness: 179570 | cool :)
i don't know if we will see it go supernova in our lifetime. (if we do, it means it exploded around 5000 years ago, because of the distance) And just for fun: sounds from Saturn's auroras! [ www.nasa.gov ] more infos: [ www.nasa.gov ] |
| I'm feeling / right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» JojoBizarre replied on Mon Nov 30, 2009 @ 3:07pm |
 Coolness: 295900 | Originally Posted By AERIAL
cool :) i don't know if we will see it go supernova in our lifetime. (if we do, it means it exploded around 5000 years ago, because of the distance) And just for fun: sounds from Saturn's auroras! [ www.nasa.gov ] more infos: [ www.nasa.gov ] sounds like an horror movie :D |
| I'm feeling the creed 2 right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» cvxn replied on Mon Nov 30, 2009 @ 3:19pm |
| Coolness: 179570 | really? I find it sounds relaxing, cosmic, soothing... |
| I'm feeling / right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» Trey replied on Mon Nov 30, 2009 @ 5:01pm |
| Coolness: 103690 | Originally Posted By JOJO_BIZARRE
sounds like an horror movie :D Play Dead Space!! it scared the life out of me. |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» JojoBizarre replied on Tue Dec 1, 2009 @ 7:59am |
| Coolness: 295900 | I did, was a great game, but didn't got scared. |
| I'm feeling the creed 2 right now.. | |
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» cvxn replied on Tue Dec 1, 2009 @ 7:59am |
| Coolness: 179570 | mutant-zombie-babies = YaY! ^__^ |
| I'm feeling / right now.. | |
Largest Star Known To Humankind Might Go Supernova Anytime.
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