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Supernova

WHAT IF: The Sun Exploded… Soon?

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Supernova - Deposit Photos

Every Wednesday, we’re asking a what-if question – how would our world be different if something were changed? Today’s question is from QSFer Scott: Scientists say we have about five billion years before the sun is likely to explode. But what if we found out it was happening in the next 12-24 months? Share your serious scientific analyses, your off-color jokes, and random thoughts on the topic on our FB and MeWe Groups: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABV MeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

What If the Sun Were Destroyed?

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Supernova - Pixabay

Every Wednesday, we’re asking a what-if question – how would our world be different if something were changed? Today’s question is from QSFer Scott: What if the sun were destroyed? Could there still be life in the solar system? From Live Science Share your serious scientific analyses, your off-color jokes, and random thoughts on the topic on our FB and MeWe Groups: FB: http://bit.ly/1MvPABV MeWe: http://bit.ly/2mjg8lf

What Happens After the Sun Dies?

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supernova - pixabay

Our sun’s death is a long way off — about 4.5 billion years, give or take — but someday it’s going to happen, and what then for our solar system? The trouble begins before the death proper: The first thing we have to contend with is the elderly sun itself. As the fusion of hydrogen continues inside the sun, the result of that reaction — helium — builds up in the core. With all the waste product hanging around, it gets harder for the sun to do its fusion dance. But the inward crushing weight of the sun’s atmosphere doesn’t … Read more

ASTRONOMY: Did a Supernova Trigger a Mass Extinction on Earth?

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supernova - pixabay

A global extinction event around 359 million years ago may have been triggered by the death blast of a distant star, a new study suggests. Toward the end of the Devonian period (416 million to 358 million years ago), there was a mass extinction known as the Hangenberg Event; it wiped out armored fish called placoderms and killed off approximately 70% of Earth’s invertebrate species. But scientists have long puzzled over what caused the die-off. Recently, preserved plant spores offered clues about this ancient extinction. Fossil spores spanning thousands of years at the boundary of the Devonian and the Carboniferous … Read more

SPACE: When Betelgeuse Goes Supernova…

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Betelgeuse supernova

The red supergiant star Betelgeuse is nearing the end of its life, and researchers are preparing for what it will look like when the star dies in a fiery explosion called a supernova. Located in the constellation Orion, the star is about 1,000 times the size of the sun. Betelgeuse’s brightness has been dipping to the lowest point in the past 100 years, and some scientists have suggested that the star is getting close to running out of fuel and going supernova. In a new study, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have modeled the stellar explosions that … Read more

SPACE: A Supernova’s Dust Found in Antarctica

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supernova - pixabay

Cosmic dust found in Antarctic snow was likely birthed in a distant supernova millions of years ago. The dust’s interstellar journey eventually brought the material to Earth, where scientists discovered the ancient grains. This dust stood out because it contains an iron isotope called iron-60, which is commonly released by supernovas but very rare on Earth. (Isotopes are versions of elements that differ in the numbers of neutrons in their atoms.) In the search for elusive space dust, scientists analyzed more than 1,100 lbs. (500 kilograms) of surface snow that they gathered from a high-altitude region of Antarctica near the … Read more

Did Exploding Stars Bring Us to Our Feet? – Live Science

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nova - NASA

As human ancestors went from swinging through trees to walking on two legs, they may have received a boost from an unlikely source: ancient supernovas. These powerful stellar explosions may have showered Earth with enough energy to shift the planet’s climate, bathing Earth in electrons and sparking powerful, lightning-filled storms, according to a new hypothesis. Lightning then could have kindled raging wildfires that scorched African landscapes. As savanna replaced the forest habitat, early humans that lived there may have been pushed to walk on two legs, the new study suggests. However, don’t go jumping to conclusions just yet. Many factors … Read more

SPACE: Soar Through the Heart of a Supernova

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When the universe’s largest stars run out of fuel and die, they explode in technicolor tsunamis of gas and dust that can stretch on into space for dozens of light-years. To see the full array of cosmic colors left behind by a star gone supernova, you generally need some pretty sophisticated telescopes capable of seeing light beyond the visible spectrum. But today, you can grab a front-row seat to those cosmic pyrotechnics by clicking over to this new 3D simulation released by the Smithsonian. The interactive, 360-degree graphic allows armchair astronauts to navigate through the heart of a supernova remnant … Read more

Science: We Might Get to See a Supernova!

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supernova - pixabay

It could be one of the biggest astronomical events in years ― a star explosion so intense it could literally change the night sky. Astronomers are predicting that binary star system KIC 9832227, located in the Cygnus constellation, will merge and explode in a “red nova” event in 2022. And if it happens as predicted, its brightness will increase by 10,000-fold, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky and easily visible with the naked eye, according to a Calvin College news release. “It will be a very dramatic change in the sky, as anyone can see … Read more

Announcement: Supernova, by Christine Wright

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Supernova

QSFer Christine Wright stops by for an interview about her new sci fi book, Supernova, and her writing in general: Supernova completed the Mated to the Captain Series  Supernova is the third book in the Mated to the Captain series. It’s MM Sci-Fi romance with lots of adventure, sassiness and humor. There are quirky characters and unusual situations. Below are some questions readers typically ask me. The Mated to the Captain Series summarized in a sentence? A human gets way more than he bargained for when he gets drunk and ends up unwittingly mated to a bossy alpha alien. Who IS … Read more