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Scientists Predict Star Collision Visible to the Naked Eye in 2022
- executesorder66 10y agoSo will it be visible in both hemispheres? How will we know when and where to look?
- intrasight 10y agoStay tuned... (we have some time yet)
- washedup 10y agoNorthern hemisphere.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- tejtm 10y agoIn the northern constellation Cygnus (the Swan) As far as places in the sky to notice a new star showing up by eye it is suboptimal since it is right in the middle of the Milky Way.
- drjesusphd 10y agoPlus Cygnus and nearby constellations already have some of the brightest stars in the sky.
- sanxiyn 10y agoYes Cygnus has bright stars. But this star is predicted to change apparent magnitude from 12 to 2. If it becomes apparent magnitude 2, it will be the second brightest star in Cygnus, just past Deneb.
- blater 10y agoTLDR; Northern hemisphere:definitely, Southern:Maybe. It's in cygnus, which is always visible in the northern hemisphere, and visible in a lot of the southern hemisphere low on the horizon in the winter months. The event is not certain, but is highly likely to occur. The date is "2022 give or take a year", so if it occurs in Southern winter then it will likely be visible to the Southern hemisphere.
- jeffiel 10y agoThe prediction is really that these stars collided about 1795 years ago, and we may find out about it soon.
- drjesusphd 10y agoBecause simultaneity itself is relative, in our frame it actually does happen in 2022. It doesn't make sense to say the stars already collided if it's not in our past light cone.
- arithma 10y agoBut we do say we see the Sun as it were 8 minutes ago because of distance/c. Are you suggesting that this notion be removed as well, because I agree with you regarding the light cone, but the Sun being 8 minutes away makes too much sense for me to abolish the concept. Is there any philosophical speak about this topic or is it basically resolved?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- random314 10y agoThere exists a reference frame in which the distance between the Sun and earth is so compressed by Lorentz contraction that the light leaves the Sun and arrives at the earth in 1 second. In relativistic terms, the photon leaving the Sun and arriving at the earth can be considered to be simultaneous.
- eternalban 10y ago> There exists a reference frame But is that the reference frame that we experience?
- random314 10y agoObviously, no.
- aaronbrethorst 10y agoPrevious discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13348829 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13348829
- mikeytown2 10y agoGood news is that the James Webb telescope should be up and running by then.
- jayajay 10y agoi love how you posted this ironically. "we might be able to see this with the naked eye! why bother when you can see it through JWST?"
- dang 10y agoWe've banned this account for repeatedly posting unsubstantive and/or uncivil comments and ignoring our requests to stop. We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13363274 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13363274 and marked it off-topic.
- jayajay 10y agoyou banned me? confused... seems like i can still comment / vote edit: hellban, content invisible.
- crusso 10y agoMaybe I'm up too early, but I have an idea: Where will you be in your life when those stars collide? Write down (briefly) where you are in your life right now, on a blog, Facebook, or even some tweets. Then write down where you think you'll be in your life in the five or so years when these stars collides. Hashtag it #whenstarscollide or give it a similar title so people can find it when the times comes.
- Mithaldu 10y agoIn the year 222, when those stars collided, i wasn't anywhere. At best i could note where i am when the light of the collision arrives here.
- MawKKe 10y agoI quite often think similarly about 2038-01-19. That's 21 years from now. I've set a reminder for that "event" on Google calendar. I'm sure nothing major will happen, but at least I could host a "end of the world" party for my friends. I wonder if that service (or Google for that matter) will be alive then. I wonder if I will be.
- grondilu 10y agoI've told that to my mum. She basically freaked out when I mentioned that the new star will be red. She has very little if any scientific background and she struggled to find words to describe what she felt but I could feel she saw this upcoming event as a esoteric sign or something. People who are even more into astrology and stuff are probably losing their s.it.
- _andromeda_ 10y agoAny one know for how long we'll continue to observe the aftermath of the collision?