Another question for BA ("Death" stars)

exarch · 4th November 2004, 08:15 AM

I saw a documentary about neutron stars a week or so ago, (at least, that's what I think they were).
It was all about the strange radio signals being picked up randomly from what they assumed were some kind of exploding stars. They found out that those random radiosignals were a lot further away than first expected (and thus much more powerfull). Apparently what happens is that the star collapses as it reaches a critical point, and becomes a black hole. But at the moment of formation, a powerful stream of gamma radiation is ejected at both poles of the collapsing star.

They also commented that if such a thing were to happen in our galaxy, the earth (if it should find itself in the path of such a stream) would most likely be sterilized, with the exception of some species deep in the ocean. One astronomer even suggested that this is why we don't find any alien life forms, they all get wiped out by such stars before they can contact us. He even called them natural life extinghuishers or something. Well, even really smart people can say stupid things sometimes

Anyway, my question is, if those jets of radiation occur at the poles of the star, along its rotational axis, how likely is it that our solar system is in the path of such a "cosmic deathray"?

In our solar system (with some exceptions) most planets rotate along an axis perpendicular to their plane of orbit around the sun, and they all orbit the sun along rather parallel planes, and the sun's rotational axis is also mostly perpendicular to those planes.

I realize the reason there's a correlation there is probably due to the way the elements of our solar system (and their initial formation) are interconnected.

Do all stars/planetary systems in our galaxy rotate along similar planes and axes, (i.e. somewhat perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way, which itself rotates around its own center)? If so, this would mean that any neutron star collapsing would most likely not hit our planet since it's rotation is mostly perpendicular to that plane. Or is there no such correlation on that scale?

4th November 2004, 08:15 AM	#1
exarch Anti-homeopathy illuminati member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Beyond redemption Posts: 7,225	Another question for BA ("Death" stars) I saw a documentary about neutron stars a week or so ago, (at least, that's what I think they were). It was all about the strange radio signals being picked up randomly from what they assumed were some kind of exploding stars. They found out that those random radiosignals were a lot further away than first expected (and thus much more powerfull). Apparently what happens is that the star collapses as it reaches a critical point, and becomes a black hole. But at the moment of formation, a powerful stream of gamma radiation is ejected at both poles of the collapsing star. They also commented that if such a thing were to happen in our galaxy, the earth (if it should find itself in the path of such a stream) would most likely be sterilized, with the exception of some species deep in the ocean. One astronomer even suggested that this is why we don't find any alien life forms, they all get wiped out by such stars before they can contact us. He even called them natural life extinghuishers or something. Well, even really smart people can say stupid things sometimes Anyway, my question is, if those jets of radiation occur at the poles of the star, along its rotational axis, how likely is it that our solar system is in the path of such a "cosmic deathray"? In our solar system (with some exceptions) most planets rotate along an axis perpendicular to their plane of orbit around the sun, and they all orbit the sun along rather parallel planes, and the sun's rotational axis is also mostly perpendicular to those planes. I realize the reason there's a correlation there is probably due to the way the elements of our solar system (and their initial formation) are interconnected. Do all stars/planetary systems in our galaxy rotate along similar planes and axes, (i.e. somewhat perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way, which itself rotates around its own center)? If so, this would mean that any neutron star collapsing would most likely not hit our planet since it's rotation is mostly perpendicular to that plane. Or is there no such correlation on that scale?
	__________________ Naturalhealth: Helios are one of the largest homeopathic pharmacies in England. They have their reputation to consider, so it is just not worth their while doing anything that would destroy that. Rest assured, all their remedies are exactly what they say they are. There are also ways of testing the remedies too, so that you could distinguish them from just pure tap water. QAman: How can this be done? I presume you mean testing of the lower dilution remedies? Naturalhealth: No. This can be done for all remedies. __________________ Luciana is perhaps one of the sweetest people I've ever met. I will stand behind her till I drop dead. If you want to **** with her, you better understand you have to go through me first -- MoeFaux