Exploding Star, Is this Doomsday?
Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2010
by Herdeep Mann
Activ UK
With 2012 fast approaching I am sure you have read many articles on the scenarios about the possible end of the world in that year somewhere around the 21st of December,which is the end of the Mayan calendar, and therefore will herald the beginning of the end.
But recently astronomers have spotted a white dwarf star which could possibly explode,the reason been it is increasing in mass at an exponential rate,and therefore destroy all life on Earth.
The star system in question is the T Pyxidis, yes you might say where? But that's just the name given to the binary system in which the star exists,the system actually consists of two stars,one of the systems is very similar to our own Sun.Thus the Sun like star is responsible for feeding gas to the white dwarf star, resulting in explosions of a nuclear magnitude or as in astronomer speak "NOVA".
Apparently these nova explosions take place approxiamately every 20yrs,and known recordings date back as far as 1890,up to 1967,but not much notice was taken,which could suggest that the T Pyxidis is at least 20yrs overdue for its next major explosion.
If the white dwarf star was to explode the equivalent blast would be equal to twenty billion, billion, billion, megatons of TNT and would also result in a instantaneous gravitational collapse.
The main question for the people of Earth is this,is it that the white dwarf star is getting larger(ie increasing in mass), because of the gas it is recieving,or is it the continual explosions, resulting in the mass of the star falling.
Astronomers from the USA from the Villanova University in Philadelphia,took their readings from the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite, and they say that they can confirm that the white dwarf star is increasing in mass, and in astronomical terms is only 3,260 light years away, a stones throw away in distances in space from the Earth.
So therefore an explosion of the magnitude as explained earlier would emit enough radiation to totally destroy the ozone layer of the Earth,leaving us exposed to the Suns destructive ultraviolet radiation.
But as always don't start hiding in your radiation shelters yet,according to the UK astronomical society, they say the star may become a supernova soon, but that could be many years away, let's hope they're right.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)We are seeing the star as it was 3260 years ago. It may have exploded already. The gamma rays that will be emitted come out the top and bottom of the star. If it's tipped toward us we will have the problem.hi Jack,Thanks for the comment,yes you are probably right,as it is 3260 light years away.
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