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Mistress Vondella · 06-22-2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lezleighd

Satine hurried to class and found her seat at the front of the class and unloaded her supplies...She was instantly memorized by the exploding star...wow...it was so beautiful...it looked like it changed shades of colors as it grew and exploded...

"Howzit Professor! I brought extra parchment and quills for any students that needs them. I'm loving your exploding star...it's amazing!" and she wasn't lying because she soon was doing nothing but staring at the star.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fire_faerie

Rachel walked into Astronomy with a smile on her face and quickly skipped over to find a seat. Lowering her bursting book bag onto the floor, she began to take out her things when a bright light suddenly appeared and caused her to jump. Looking up, and narrowly missing the table, she grinned as she saw Professor Forrester's bursting star thingy.

"That's really neat, Professor," she commented, watching with wide eyes as the thing exploded yet again and then returned back to normal.

"Thank you for joining us, ladies. Satine, consider my not taking house points off you thanks for bringing the extra supplies for the Hufflepuffs. Rachel, 5 points for arriving late."

He looked around the room again and continued:

Certain star explosions, called hypernovae, have much greater reach. Ten times more powerful than typical supernovae, hypernovae are the source for long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs), which are high-energy beams emitted along the dying star's axis. A GRB could travel 6,500 light-years and still inflict terrific damage on Earth, Thomas says.

The number of GRBs is much less than the number of supernovae, but the exact rate in our galaxy is still a matter of debate. A few years ago, a group of astronomers calculated that the likelihood of a GRB going off near us was very low, due to the fact that GRBs tend to arise in young galaxies with less heavy elements than the Milky Way.

But Thomas says that subsequent analyses have called this calculation into question, partly because our galaxy has merged in the past with smaller, younger galaxies that could have brought GRB-ticking-time-bombs in with them. "Our likelihood for hosting a GRB could vary with time," Thomas says.

He speculates that on average a GRB lights up our galaxy about once every 10 million years.

06-22-2009, 06:53 PM	#20 (permalink)
Mistress Vondella Cockatrice Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 28,938 Hogwarts RPG Name: Professor McFarlane Graduated	IndyEddie Quote: Originally Posted by Lezleighd Satine hurried to class and found her seat at the front of the class and unloaded her supplies...She was instantly memorized by the exploding star...wow...it was so beautiful...it looked like it changed shades of colors as it grew and exploded... "Howzit Professor! I brought extra parchment and quills for any students that needs them. I'm loving your exploding star...it's amazing!" and she wasn't lying because she soon was doing nothing but staring at the star. Quote: Originally Posted by fire_faerie Rachel walked into Astronomy with a smile on her face and quickly skipped over to find a seat. Lowering her bursting book bag onto the floor, she began to take out her things when a bright light suddenly appeared and caused her to jump. Looking up, and narrowly missing the table, she grinned as she saw Professor Forrester's bursting star thingy. "That's really neat, Professor," she commented, watching with wide eyes as the thing exploded yet again and then returned back to normal. "Thank you for joining us, ladies. Satine, consider my not taking house points off you thanks for bringing the extra supplies for the Hufflepuffs. Rachel, 5 points for arriving late." He looked around the room again and continued: Certain star explosions, called hypernovae, have much greater reach. Ten times more powerful than typical supernovae, hypernovae are the source for long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs), which are high-energy beams emitted along the dying star's axis. A GRB could travel 6,500 light-years and still inflict terrific damage on Earth, Thomas says. The number of GRBs is much less than the number of supernovae, but the exact rate in our galaxy is still a matter of debate. A few years ago, a group of astronomers calculated that the likelihood of a GRB going off near us was very low, due to the fact that GRBs tend to arise in young galaxies with less heavy elements than the Milky Way. But Thomas says that subsequent analyses have called this calculation into question, partly because our galaxy has merged in the past with smaller, younger galaxies that could have brought GRB-ticking-time-bombs in with them. "Our likelihood for hosting a GRB could vary with time," Thomas says. He speculates that on average a GRB lights up our galaxy about once every 10 million years. __________________ We'll always be together cuz we're both under the moon