Ancient Rock Art Depicts Exploding Star

A rock carving discovered in Arizona might depict an ancient star explosion seen by Native Americans a thousand years ago, scientists announced today.

If confirmed, the rock carving, or “petroglyph” would be the only known record in the Americas of the well-known supernova of the year 1006.

The carving was discovered in White Tanks Regional Park just outside Phoenix, in an area believed to have been occupied by a group of Native Americans called the Hohokam from about 500 to 1100 A.D.

This is very interesting. And I actually have a question about it. Does anyone know when the next supernova is supposed to occur? I think that would be amazing to watch. Is it even in our life time and will it even be viewable to us? I hope.

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The coming Warning in Garabandal perhaps......"like two stars colliding in the sky".

Originally posted by Schmidt1989
And I actually have a question about it. Does anyone know when the next supernova is supposed to occur?

We simply dont have the tech. to predict such things in the flash of time that is a human lifetime. I think the best you could hope for is a estimate of what stars may go supernova in the next few million years.

It would be a amazing sight though a single star that outshines all of the stars in the galaxy combined.

Chinese historians saw and recorded a supernova in the Crab Nebula in 1054. Chinese astronomers were also among the first to record observations of a supernova. I think they called them "guest stars" though but when we look were they said these "guest stars" were we see evidence of recent supernovas.

Yeah, China recorded the essential birth of the Crab Nebula.

And yes, we don't yet have the knowledge or theory as to be able to predict exactly when a star will go Supernova.

However, there's supernova's all the time! It's just that they're so far away, we can't see them.

Still, if you were to place your bets on the next nearby-one, I'd settle for Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation. en.wikipedia.org...

Current evidence suggests that it will go supernova within 1000 to 10 000s of years (a bit more directed towards the later). Such an explosion would make it as bright as a crescent or full moon! Still, despite as close as Betelgeuse is, its explosion would pose no harm to the planet, with the only "possible" exception that you could have some amazing aurora borealis for a few months or years.

In any case, I'd suggest reading the article, it'll tell you a lot more!

Originally posted by Yarium
Still, despite as close as Betelgeuse is, its explosion would pose no harm to the planet, with the only "possible" exception that you could have some amazing aurora borealis for a few months or years.

Really? I've always heard the opposite - that if the gamma- and x-rays didn't kills us off, then the neutrinoes would.

Isnt Betelgeuse like a 1,000 light years distant from earth? That distance and we could still get messed up from a super nova?

Actually, it's 427 light years away.

That's not what it looks like to me. Rather than an exploding star, it looks like something where the sun don't shine.

Man 427 light years and it can still do us in That would be one heck of a way for humanity to go.

Would there be any warning time?

I think 427 years worth of warning time,

Actually, next to nothing in the way of warning time. If we were to see it go nova in our sky today, that would have to mean that it happened 427 years ago. Without us knowing it. Likewise, if it were to go supernova today, it would take 427 years for the effects to reach the Earth.

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
Actually, next to nothing in the way of warning time. If we were to see it go nova in our sky today, that would have to mean that it happened 427 years ago. Without us knowing it. Likewise, if it were to go supernova today, it would take 427 years for the effects to reach the Earth.

First of all, in all honesty, I don't know much about astronomy. I was wondering though, wouldn't that mean that at the same time, there would be quite a delay before we even saw a supernova? And if so, when exactly would we start counting the 427 years? Give it time already served, or start from that point? Just curious.

basically, we wouldn't know. the first warning we'd have would be when we saw the event in the sky, and by that point it'd be a matter of seconds or minutes until the gamma rays and the like hit us.

Originally posted by 25cents
basically, we wouldn't know. the first warning we'd have would be when we saw the event in the sky, and by that point it'd be a matter of seconds or minutes until the gamma rays and the like hit us.

Thats what I was afraid of

Isnt there any tell tale signs a star goves off before going Supernova that could warn us? For example wouldnt we be able to observe it begining to collapses inward first? I dont really have any clue how long it takes before that process starts till when it reaches the Chandrasekhar limit.

If it happens in a few hours that would be little help.

No, cmdrkeen, we'd be safe. First, just as the Earth produces a magnetic field that protects us from things like Solar Prominences and other nasty things, the sun also produces a MUCH LARGER magnetic field that does the same thing.

So, primarily, the radiation is dispersed because we're so far away (even though, compared to the rest of the galaxy, we're close... but comparing such vaste distances as that takes away from just how absurdly far 427 light years is). Then a lot of it is deflected by the field. What isn't deflected by that field is deflected by our field. What isn't deflected by our field is absorbed by our atomsphere.

The worst thing that will happen is that skin-cancer rates will likely rise a little bit because we'll loose a tiny, tiny amount of ozone.


As for the neutrinos... how will they kill us? You're finger is being pelted by 6 billion of them every 6 seconds (of which all but 1 or 2 actually hit some unimportant atom), so a few 3 billion more likely won't do anything.

Don't worry folks, we'd all be safe. Worrying about this makes as much sense as worrying that Jupiter will explode because it has Hydrogen in it . In that case, people have to remember that hydrogen's only explosive around oxygen - which produces water. Since there's very little oxygen in Jupiter's clouds, no sustained reaction can take place. Even then, how would Jupiter still exist with all the lightning that goes no there?

Originally posted by Yarium
As for the neutrinos... how will they kill us? You're finger is being pelted by 6 billion of them every 6 seconds (of which all but 1 or 2 actually hit some unimportant atom), so a few 3 billion more likely won't do anything.

Yarium,

Sorry to keep coming behind you, man. But an atom of the average person's body only makes contact with a neutrino about once every twenty or twenty-five years, regardless of the fact that there are over a billion neutrinos for every proton and electron in the universe. Trillions (okay, maybe billions) pass through our bodies every second, never touching a single atom in us.

So it's even safer than you thought, at least as far as neutrinos go anyway.

Harte

Not a problem harte, I appreciate it. I always just put up the best estimate I have - and don't go searching for it, but I can tell that you're looking up your info every time. Besides, how could I be upset with someone who's essentially saying "yup, you're righter than you think".

If Beatleguice(sp?) were to go Supernova we'd be safe. If it were to go into a Hypernova however, that is a much different story... Hypernova's supposedly rip apart whole galaxies.

I had never heard of a Hypernova until you mentioned it Sardion, so I did a small search, and found out what it was. Essentially it's a much more massive type of Supernova (the equivilant of 100 supernovas). Such Hypernovas could be what created the original super-massive Black Holes at the center of large galaxies closer to the beginning of the universe (no where near the beginning, but if we assume an age of 13.7 billion years, these Hypernova would've occured about 13.3 billion years ago).

Still, it's thought that it could be a reason why some young galaxies are seen to be releasing massive jets of gamma rays. The galaxy isn't torn apart, but worlds along such jets would be radioactively incinerated.

Now, of course, to go Hypernova a star would need to have the mass of 100 stars that could go Supernova. Such a star, Betelgeuse is not. Also, such stars would live for, what, a few thousand years - such would be the speed they would do fusion at. That sound about right? Still, an interesting concept these hyper-nova.

Nevermind about the "Blowing apart a Galaxy" remark. It was mis-remembered.

At the peak of a Hypernova, it will outshine it's host galaxy for a brief moment.

www.space.com...