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Mar
29
‘Death Star’ System WR104 Threatening Earth With Its Imminent Supernova?
Filed Under astronomy, science | Leave a Comment
Just when we thought the worst problems facing us were a sluggish economy (which should pick up in a couple of months or so, if previous recession cycles are any indication) and a protracted Democratic party nominating battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, comes news that a “death star” is now threatening the Earth.
The death star system is called WR104 and is only 8000 light years away, reports Ian Steward for New Zealand’s The Press.
A Sydney University astronomer has warned this week that the Earth could be destroyed when an unstable neighbouring star explodes.
Dr Peter Tuthill said that observing WR104, a star system in the Sagittarius constellation, made him feel like he was “looking down a rifle barrel”.
One of the stars in the WR104 spiral system is what scientists call a Wolf-Raynet type star — an imminent supernova.
Tuthill has discovered that the pole the spiral spins on points almost exactly at Earth.
It recently has been discovered that gamma rays are fired out along a star system’s polar axis.
Tuthill said the star was a “ticking bomb”. “It’s worrying enough. We do live on a fragile planet and this is one of the things that could be harmful. I used to appreciate this spiral just for its beautiful form, but now I can’t help a twinge of feeling that it is uncannily like looking down a rifle barrel.”
If the WR104 star system emitted gamma rays directed at earth, it could burn off the ozone layer, according to scientists.
There is good news, before we get too worried and start burrowing into the ground or building shelters to hide from WR104’s gamma rays, other scientists say the risk is small.
Canterbury University astronomer Associate Professor Peter Cottrell said the death star theory was “nice speculation”, but “I wouldn’t get too worried”.
