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With this close proximity, isn't there a good chance we may be hit directly with the gamma ray burst ? Shouldn't we be alarmed about another possible mass extin

With this close proximity, isn't there a good chance we may be hit directly with the gamma ray burst ? Shouldn't we be alarmed about another possible mass extinction event ?

incompatible 8y ago
Theoretically, if a gamma-ray burst was pointed directly at the Earth. I assume that the chance of that for a particular event is quite small.
- wiredfool 8y ago
  The bad astronomy article says that this one is apparently pointed about 30 degrees away from us.
valarauca1 8y ago
I don't see how/why? Generally speaking it is exceptionally rare for a star to point directly at us. This is to an acurracy of millionth's of a degree, as the straight line travel across interstellar space is massive. So getting hit with a GRB is like winning the interstallar lottery. Secondly, if you cannot control it, or influence it. Worrying about it is just fantasizing. Humans tend to assume overly dramatic events are more likely then they actually are.
GarrisonPrime 8y ago
Apparently they can clearly detect that the ejection from the poles is much slower than the ejection from the equator, which tells me the poles are probably directed away from Earth and the stars are being seen somewhat side-on. So I'm guessing any such burst will be directed away. Just a guess.
Zelphyr 8y ago
What could we do about it if we did find we were going to get hit directly with it?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- cthalupa 8y ago
  The GRB starts, from my understanding, when the core collapses - and that only takes seconds. And then travels at light speed. The shockwave making its way through the rest of the star can take hours, and you might see the explosion take months. But the GRB would hit us before we would see the shockwave, or explosion. Without the ability to accurately determine when a supernova will occur, we will effectively have no real warning we're about to be hit. Protecting ourselves from it is also well beyond our current technology. We'd either need to build enough physical shielding to block it from hitting earth, or we'd need to leave our solar system.

With this close proximity, isn't there a good chance we may be hit directly with the gamma ray burst ? Shouldn't we be alarmed about another possible mass extinction event ?

incompatible 8y ago

Theoretically, if a gamma-ray burst was pointed directly at the Earth. I assume that the chance of that for a particular event is quite small.

wiredfool 8y ago
The bad astronomy article says that this one is apparently pointed about 30 degrees away from us.

valarauca1 8y ago

I don't see how/why? Generally speaking it is exceptionally rare for a star to point directly at us. This is to an acurracy of millionth's of a degree, as the straight line travel across interstellar space is massive. So getting hit with a GRB is like winning the interstallar lottery. Secondly, if you cannot control it, or influence it. Worrying about it is just fantasizing. Humans tend to assume overly dramatic events are more likely then they actually are.

GarrisonPrime 8y ago

Apparently they can clearly detect that the ejection from the poles is much slower than the ejection from the equator, which tells me the poles are probably directed away from Earth and the stars are being seen somewhat side-on. So I'm guessing any such burst will be directed away. Just a guess.

Zelphyr 8y ago

What could we do about it if we did find we were going to get hit directly with it?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
cthalupa 8y ago
The GRB starts, from my understanding, when the core collapses - and that only takes seconds. And then travels at light speed. The shockwave making its way through the rest of the star can take hours, and you might see the explosion take months. But the GRB would hit us before we would see the shockwave, or explosion. Without the ability to accurately determine when a supernova will occur, we will effectively have no real warning we're about to be hit. Protecting ourselves from it is also well beyond our current technology. We'd either need to build enough physical shielding to block it from hitting earth, or we'd need to leave our solar system.