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What about gamma ray bursts? I've read that our position more at the outer rim of the galaxy is beneficial because there are fewer gamma ray bursts compared to
by sawwit 11y ago
What about gamma ray bursts? I've read that our position more at the outer rim of the galaxy is beneficial because there are fewer gamma ray bursts compared to more dense regions.
- pavel_lishin 11y agoAren't most GRBs extra-galactic in origin? If anything, being on the outskirts means there's less matter protecting us from them.
- Udo 11y agoThey're only dangerous if they happen within the same galaxy and your planet happens to be right on the axis of the narrow burst cone. In that case there might still be a statistical advantage to being nearer to the core of the galaxy due to more matter density, but it might be offset by the increased chance of getting hit with a GRB there in the first place. Also, we're not actually within the outer rim of the galaxy: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/galaxy-location.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/gala...
- stargazer-3 11y agoGamma ray bursts are produced by stars that are very massive and short-lived. So one can argue that after few tens of millions of years a cluster wouldn't produce that them. On the other hand you are of course right - in a galaxy that is still undergoing intense star formation it is still dangerous to live in a dense region where a nearby young cluster can still render your home planet sterile through a GRB. However, our own Galaxy doesn't seem to be forming stars that actively anymore, and the chance of a new GRB pointing directly at a given star cluster is negligible.