OT. Quasar Mystery Solved....

[Dean Hoffman]

Earth has about 5 billion years left if the star gazers are right.
<https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-solve-the-60-year-mystery-of-quasars-colliding/>

 

[Fred Bloggs]

On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 4:42:02 PM UTC-4, Dean Hoffman wrote:

Earth has about 5 billion years left if the star gazers are right.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-solve-the-60-year-mystery-of-quasars-colliding/

Coincidence does not prove causation. They\'ll have to do better than that.

 

[Don Y]

On 4/29/2023 1:41 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:

Earth has about 5 billion years left if the star gazers are right.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-solve-the-60-year-mystery-of-quasars-colliding/

Shit! I guess I\'ll have to move up that dinner party...

 

[Jeff Layman]

On 29/04/2023 21:41, Dean Hoffman wrote:

Earth has about 5 billion years left if the star gazers are right.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-solve-the-60-year-mystery-of-quasars-colliding/

You mean it\'s been \"solved\" for this week. Astrophysics seems to abound
with wonderful answers to all sorts of things, until someone comes up
with a different explanation.

There are three unrelated stories linked to in that quasar article, all
of which have a new explanation about something:
<https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scientist-finds-saturn-doing-something-never-seen-before-in-our-solar-system-hiding-in-plain-view-for-40-years/>
<https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-observe-2-neutron-stars-colliding-and-the-extreme-reaction-defies-all-expectations/>
<https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ringed-planet-that-defies-known-physics-discovered-in-outer-reaches-of-our-solar-system/>

--

Jeff

 

[Martin Brown]

On 29/04/2023 21:41, Dean Hoffman wrote:

Earth has about 5 billion years left if the star gazers are right.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/astronomers-solve-the-60-year-mystery-of-quasars-colliding/

We are quite a way from the galactic centre so we might get to watch the
fireworks from close up. Our galaxy\'s BH and the one in M31 is by chance
quite modest so it might still be a bit of a non-event. Galaxies consist
of stars and a heck of a lot of empty space between them. Nearest to are
sun are 4 light years away. It is pretty much like smoke colliding.

By sheer coincidence the BH at the centre of the giant galaxy M87 in
Virgo and the one at the centre of our galaxy look about the same
angular size from Earth. M87 is a long long way away in a cluster of its
own. If we collided with M87 or something with a similar heft then I
would be then I would be a lot more concerned. M87 has a pretty
impressive relativistic jet most of the time with a greed BH.

https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2000/20/968-Image.html

We will probably be toasted by the sun evolving off the main sequence
and swelling up into a red giant before that actually happens. The sun
won\'t have to get too much brighter/bigger before the habitable zone
moves away from the Earth.

It will be a close run thing by 6 billion years the Earth\'s orbit will
be just above the surface of the red giant sun - rather toasty.

--
Martin Brown