Destroyer of worlds: Astronomers overlaid 11 time lapse images of the rotating star system WR 104 to reveal a 30 billion-kilometre-long tail that billows out in a spiral around it.
Credit: University of Sydney
SYDNEY: A spectacular, rotating binary star system is a ticking time bomb, ready to throw out a searing beam of high-energy gamma rays – and Earth may be right in the line of fire.
Astronomers at the University of Sydney, in Australia, first discovered the unusual and beguilingly beautiful star system eight years ago in the Constellation Sagittarius. One member of the pair is a highly unstable star known as a Wolf-Rayet, thought to be the final stage of stellar evolution to precede a cataclysmic supernova explosion.
"When it finally explodes as a supernova, it could emit an intense beam of gamma rays coming our way", said Peter Tuthill, lead researcher of the team that report their findings in the current Astrophysical Journal.
Vast and glowing plume
At a distance of 8,000 light-years from Earth, the pair of stars are a short hop away in galactic terms, and just one quarter of the way to the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.
The researchers took images of the system, known as WR 104, over a period of eight years using Hawaii's Keck Telescope. These images reveal a vast and glowing plume of heated dust and gas, billowing out in a spiral as the stars rotate once every eight months. This 'tail' is up to 30 billion kilometres long.
But something curious about the images caught the attention of the experts.
"Viewed from Earth, the rotating tail appears to be laid out on the sky in an almost perfect spiral. It could only appear like that if we are looking nearly exactly down on the axis of the binary system," said Tuthill.
This means we are peering down the barrel of the gun, as when binary supernovae go off, all their energy is focussed into a narrow beam of wildly destructive gamma ray radiation that emanates (both up and down) from the poles of the system.
"If such a gamma-ray burst happens, we really do not want Earth to be in the way," he said. "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."
Deathstar, Nibiru etc.
The sooner the better. All dogs go to Heaven, including Hilary and Obama. No more PTSD and no more IRS. No more rulers Scull and Bones, Rotschilds and Jewish Lobby. 2012 is close anyway. No more suicide bombers and high price gasoline. Who cares anymore. This world is sick anyway
binary deathstar system
So what's the worry? Since it's 8000 light years away, if it happens it will be 8000 years before it gets here so none of us will be alive anyway. Come to think of it, since what the "experts" are looking at has already been subjected to an 8000-year delay, they can't even know if the thing is still there. All of this type of claptrap is hype created to perpetuate and enhance the careers of high-level parasites who have graduate degrees that equip them only for occupations that are supported by tax money extorted by big government from people who derive no benefit at all from their wasteful activities!
yes
Good. The sooner, the better.
deadtstar
Maybe the star had already explodet,remember when your looking out in space, your are seing back in time, so when you see wr 104 your seeing hov it lookt 8000 years ago.
Doesn't Matter
The sun will deflect everything "destructive" that comes our way from other parts of the galaxy, as it has done for billions of years.
I wish it would hurry up and
I wish it would hurry up and happen
It would be an amazing way to go plus america is destroying the world physically, spiritually and emotionally anyway.
We all sit here and do nothing while Hillary and Obama spend hundreds of millions of dollars whilst there is so much despair in the world.
We dont deserve this beautiful planet.
Shut up please
What is wrong with everyone? Why is everyone praying for something to come out of the blackness and end our existence? I skimmed through these comments and found more "Emo" end of the world BS than I can handle. Think about all we have done as a species. Yeah a lot of it is horrible: the holocaust, the inquisition, the overall destruction to the planet by America and China combined, and let us not forget boy bands. However, we have accomplished so much as well. We are what "God" or the natural cycle of the universe put into being so that something can appreciate it; to ponder and fawn over it's wonders. As for the Mayans, if they were so advance and could predict so much, why didn't they predict their way out of being slaughtered by the Spanish? I've done the research. A lot of their celestial maps and calenders are not as perfect as everyone thinks. A lot of researchers take liberties on that fact. What's more, we don't even know if we have synced the Mayan calender to ours properly.
Shut the F*** up please and keep your mass suicidal extinction stuff to yourself, because I know I want to live to see us mess up the first maned Mars mission.
On a political note... there should be no politics in science. So please leave that at the door too. This article is about gamma rays not the presidential election. Science should be funded jointly by all the worlds governments (those that can afford it), and alloted on a competitive market for industry.
Thank you and have a nice day,
Steven N W
Ps. If you think the world is so horrible and you can't wait to get out of it well then just do us all a favor; take the time that you would spend posting a factually erroneous and depressing comment and just go kill yourself. You are taking up space, food, water, and materials that the rest of us "crazy" hopefuls need.
Cheese and Crackers!
Hypocrite
-Nods- This article isn't saying we're all going to die. It's giving a few possibilities and frankly I think the system is beautiful; a lot of things that cause death are, but this has a tiny, tiny chance of hitting us. You're more likely to slip and die in the bathroom.
And for you bloody religious nuts, why don't you watch 'Judgement Day' I think you'll find that interesting. Not only does the religious spokesman want to allow a meteor to destroy his planet, he wants to let his four beautiful children die too.
Science does affect politics and policy making. However, the fact someone made one political joke and it turned into a political discussion annoys me.
Though, we can celebrate me as a hypocrite for bringing it up again.
J. Margey.
wr-104 gamma ray beams
It would depend on how fast these beams move. If at the speed of light it would take a while to reach earth . Long enough to pray to GOD.
Um...huh?
LOL. I'm afraid you have us heathen folk a tad confused. First, "If at the speed of light, it'll take a while to reach the Earth"? You make it sound like the speed of light is a leisurely pace, but that's the fastest speed ANYTHING can travel (well, tachyons are theoretically faster, but let's not go there).
Second, gamma rays, being electro-magnetic energy, basically ARE light, so yes, they move at the speed of light. So, with WR104 being 8,000 light-years away, I'll go out on a limb and say it would take the gamma ray burst 8,000 years to reach Earth. But, the point is, since it travels at the speed of light, we won't ever see it coming. By the time anyone can see that the star has exploded, the gamma ray burst will have already reached the Earth. Get it?
So, probably best to do that praying now. As for the specific prayer to use, might I suggest: "Oh Merciful Lord, we beseech You in Your love and divine grace to deliver us from this cosmic terror which...You...sent...in the first place...hey!! Wait a minute!! You're a total D**k, God!!!"