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Thread: Whoa! Earth gets a second sun!

  1. #1
    For whom nothing is written. Oliveloaf's avatar
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    Default Whoa! Earth gets a second sun!

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_811864.html

    This is crazy!

    I have never taken a neutrino shower.
    "I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."

    -Jim Rockford

  2. #2
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Color me skeptical. Bad Astronomy covered this last summer. The story crops back up every once in a while.

    I really, really hope it does happen in my lifetime as it's going to be absolutely amazing, but it might not happen for another 100,000 years.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  3. #3
    For whom nothing is written. Oliveloaf's avatar
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    You're bumming me out, Zuul.

    I wanted this to happen soon.
    "I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."

    -Jim Rockford

  4. #4
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    I do, too. That's why I keep reading about it and disappointing myself.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  5. #5
    A Dude Peeta Mellark's avatar
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    Screw science. We're gonna have two suns and it's going to be AWESOME!

  6. #6
    Member Elendil's Heir's avatar
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    In Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two, and the movie based on it,
    Spoiler (mouseover to read):
    Jupiter (with a little help from the alien-made Monolith) becomes a second star right here in our own Solar System.

  7. #7
    Oliphaunt
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    Quote Originally posted by Peeta Mellark View post
    Screw science. We're gonna have two suns and it's going to be AWESOME!
    Damn straight!

  8. #8
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    So, this second sun, is it what that one guy was talking about when he said all the electronics in the whole world were just going to stop working in 2012?
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  9. #9
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    If we are really lucky it could wind up raining gold and precious metals.

    In say a few million years.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  10. #10
    Oliphaunt
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    Precious metals nothing, I want supernova-caused superpowers.

  11. #11
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    That would make a great book, wouldn't it? The earth is bathed in a neutrino shower and suddenly everyone on the planet gets super powers. What do you do when everyone is a superhero/villain?
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

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    The neutrinos and the precious metals have damn-all to do with each other, except that the same event causes them both. Equally, forget about superpowers; even if genetics worked that way, neutrinos will pass through your body with no effect whatsoever. Similarly, while the supernova might be brighter than anything else apart from the Sun, it would still appear star-sized, since an object 1300 light-years away would have to be ten or more light-years across to match the Sun's apparent diameter.

    Personally I like Betelgeuse and hope it's good for many years yet.

  13. #13
    Member Elendil's Heir's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    That would make a great book, wouldn't it? The earth is bathed in a neutrino shower and suddenly everyone on the planet gets super powers. What do you do when everyone is a superhero/villain?
    Syndrome had a theory about that....

  14. #14
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    When everyone is special, no one is.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  15. #15
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    I'm actually picturing a really bad super hero RPG.
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  16. #16
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    I'm actually picturing a really bad super hero RPG.
    Are you picturing the RPG that I'm picturing?
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  17. #17
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    I'm actually picturing a really bad super hero RPG.
    Are you picturing the RPG that I'm picturing?
    Yes. Yes, I'm sure I am.
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  18. #18
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    I'm actually picturing a really bad super hero RPG.
    Are you picturing the RPG that I'm picturing?
    Yes. Yes, I'm sure I am.
    Are you picturing a magical dragon/Superman hybrid?
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  19. #19
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    I'm actually picturing a really bad super hero RPG.
    Are you picturing the RPG that I'm picturing?
    Yes. Yes, I'm sure I am.
    Are you picturing a magical dragon/Superman hybrid?
    And, a Martian Ren Fair.
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  20. #20
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    And, a Martian Ren Fair.
    I don't know what you're complaining about. It was only natural that a bunch of Irish people would go to Mars and try to start up a high medieval society.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  21. #21
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    And, a Martian Ren Fair.
    I don't know what you're complaining about. It was only natural that a bunch of Irish people would go to Mars and try to start up a high medieval society.
    And then piss all over the other Irish people who, you know, let their women wear pants. You're right. Perfectly reasonable.
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  22. #22
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Marsilia View post
    And then piss all over the other Irish people who, you know, let their women wear pants. You're right. Perfectly reasonable.
    Um, duh. Ireland is only about 900 years in the past. It's a well known fact that only Americans and the Japanese* exist in the present.

    * Technically they're in the near future, but it's close enough.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  23. #23
    Oliphaunt
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    I don't think my brain has been exposed to enough neutrinos to understand this conversation.

  24. #24
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    There was an RPG Marsilia and I played in that was run...very poorly. And some very nonsensical people were allowed to insert very stupid ideas (like a high medieval Ireland themed Martian society). The "everybody is special" line reminded her of it.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  25. #25
    A Groupie Marsilia's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    There was an RPG Marsilia and I played in that was run...very poorly. And some very nonsensical people were allowed to insert very stupid ideas (like a high medieval Ireland themed Martian society). The "everybody is special" line reminded her of it.
    It was especially fun when people in the same storyline were playing two entirely different plots. It was very much a case of "too many cooks."
    So, I'll whisper in the dark, hoping you'll hear me.

  26. #26
    Jesus F'ing Christ Glazer's avatar
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    Y'all do know that the sun puts out more neutrinos than you would receive from a nova 1300 light years away?
    Welcome to Mellophant.

    We started with nothing and we still have most of it left.

  27. #27
    Content Generator AllWalker's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Glazer View post
    Y'all do know that the sun puts out more neutrinos than you would receive from a nova 1300 light years away?
    Yes, but we already get those. These will be new neutrinos, known is scientific circles as newtrinos.

    Sorry if this is too technical. Think of it like green kryptonite and red kryptonite. (Doubly appropriate if this supernova is red-shifted enough...)
    Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.

  28. #28
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    I sincerely hope it follows the post-Crisis continuity then, as transparent skin and an absence of powers is far preferable to planet-wide apathy or an utter loss of inhibitions.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  29. #29
    like Gandalf in a way Nrblex's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    ...preferable to...an utter loss of inhibitions.
    Says you.

  30. #30
    Confused Box Guy fachverwirrt's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Oliveloaf View post
    I have never taken a neutrino shower.
    Well then, you're just letting the best things in life pass you by.

    (Allegedly, this also applies to getting a blow job from a superior officer, but I have no empirical evidence.)

  31. #31
    Elephant terrifel's avatar
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    Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012

  32. #32
    Oliphaunt Baldwin's avatar
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    As a leftist, I probably agree with a lot of pieces at the Huffington Post. But, goddamnit, why is it when it comes to science they publish either inept, ignorant articles (like the one referenced) or nonsense like the anti-vaccine crap that's actually endangering people?

  33. #33
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    Yeah, HuffPo does get stuff so wrong sometimes it makes me cringe. I'd say their science editor is fairly lax. It looks like they must have been called on it, too, because the article has been altered and updated from when I first looked at it.
    So now they are just dirt-covered English people in fur pelts with credit cards.

  34. #34
    Prehistoric Bitchslapper Sarahfeena's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Baldwin View post
    As a leftist, I probably agree with a lot of pieces at the Huffington Post. But, goddamnit, why is it when it comes to science they publish either inept, ignorant articles (like the one referenced) or nonsense like the anti-vaccine crap that's actually endangering people?
    It's kind of strange to me, but in my observation, media outlets that have pronounced left or right slant tend to really suck at science stuff, and feed into conspiracy-minded BS. No idea why that is, but it seems common.

  35. #35
    Oliphaunt The Original An Gadaí's avatar
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    Science articles in most newspapers are terrible too.

  36. #36
    Clueless but well-meaning Hatshepsut's avatar
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    I'm bummed. I just know we'll have a second sun soon, but we'll be too busy dealing with the Yellowstone supervolcano to enjoy it.

  37. #37
    For whom nothing is written. Oliveloaf's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Baldwin View post
    As a leftist, I probably agree with a lot of pieces at the Huffington Post. But, goddamnit, why is it when it comes to science they publish either inept, ignorant articles (like the one referenced) or nonsense like the anti-vaccine crap that's actually endangering people?
    Dude,

    Every outlet is like this in some way. I know a lot about cars. The product, the business the industry, That's what I do for a living. I am appalled by how incredibly wrong the car stuff I read in general media is. Shockingly misinformed. I can only assume that the stuff I do not know that much about is just as wrong.
    "I won't kill for money, and I won't marry for it. Other than that, I'm open to just about anything."

    -Jim Rockford

  38. #38
    Oliphaunt Rube E. Tewesday's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Oliveloaf View post
    Quote Originally posted by Baldwin View post
    As a leftist, I probably agree with a lot of pieces at the Huffington Post. But, goddamnit, why is it when it comes to science they publish either inept, ignorant articles (like the one referenced) or nonsense like the anti-vaccine crap that's actually endangering people?
    Dude,

    Every outlet is like this in some way. I know a lot about cars. The product, the business the industry, That's what I do for a living. I am appalled by how incredibly wrong the car stuff I read in general media is. Shockingly misinformed. I can only assume that the stuff I do not know that much about is just as wrong.
    Yeah, when I read what the media has to say about basic legal stuff, I know that there's no way in hell I'm getting an accurate picture of what's going on in Egypt.

  39. #39
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Hatshepsut View post
    I'm bummed. I just know we'll have a second sun soon, but we'll be too busy dealing with the Yellowstone supervolcano to enjoy it.
    Oh don't, someone has been watching "Supervolcano" and gone for the worst possible situation again. Given the timescale on that is measured in the thousands of years or more.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  40. #40
    A Dude Peeta Mellark's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Oliveloaf View post
    Quote Originally posted by Baldwin View post
    As a leftist, I probably agree with a lot of pieces at the Huffington Post. But, goddamnit, why is it when it comes to science they publish either inept, ignorant articles (like the one referenced) or nonsense like the anti-vaccine crap that's actually endangering people?
    Dude,

    Every outlet is like this in some way. I know a lot about cars. The product, the business the industry, That's what I do for a living. I am appalled by how incredibly wrong the car stuff I read in general media is. Shockingly misinformed. I can only assume that the stuff I do not know that much about is just as wrong.
    Yeah, there's a lot of biology 101 type of stuff they get wrong when writing about stuff along those lines. I imagine the further I get in my education, the more errors I'll recognize.

  41. #41
    Content Generator AllWalker's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by CatInASuit View post
    Quote Originally posted by Hatshepsut View post
    I'm bummed. I just know we'll have a second sun soon, but we'll be too busy dealing with the Yellowstone supervolcano to enjoy it.
    Oh don't, someone has been watching "Supervolcano" and gone for the worst possible situation again. Given the timescale on that is measured in the thousands of years or more.
    And it's been thousands of years since the last eruption! That means it's soon!
    Something tells me we haven't seen the last of foreshadowing.

  42. #42
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    I'm amazed no-one has mentioned the Canary Islands slipping into the sea to flood the East Coast of America with a MegaTsunami
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

  43. #43
    The Queen Zuul's avatar
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    If that's a disaster movie reference, I don't watch many of those.

  44. #44
    Administrator CatInASuit's avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Zuul View post
    If that's a disaster movie reference, I don't watch many of those.
    FYI - Supervolcano - A factional account of what could occur if the Yellowstone Caldera was to go up.

    The La Palma megatsunami was a worst case possible situation of what could happen if the island sank into the sea. End result, no Eastern seaboard for the USA.

    Of course, someone made the comment that the ideal trigger for it to occur would be a supermassive earthquake perhaps caused, for example, by the Yellowstone Caldera going up.
    In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.

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