Intergalactic war now on?

NASA's space-based X-ray telescope, Chandra, has captured images of one galaxy blasting another with a jet of charged particles from a supermassive black hole at its centre.

Scientists say the jet is 1,000 light-years wide and of immense destructive power. It probably consists of 'high energy particles and magnetic fields' and produces 'enormous amounts of radiation, especially in the form of high-energy X-rays and gamma-rays,' according to the source.

The combined effects of this radiation and particles travelling at almost the speed of light could have disastrous consequences for the atmospheres of any Earth-like planets lying in the path of the jet. For example, protective layers of ozone in the planet's upper atmosphere could be destroyed, which could result in the mass extinction of any life that had evolved on the planet.

Well now... could we be witnessing the deployment of an unimaginably destructive weapon created by an unimaginably advanced civilization? The clash of galactic empires? Stars and planets reduced to ash and cinders, to clouds of hadrons and leptons? Will we ever know?

And... could we be next?!!

I'm betting more on some sort of natural phenomenon. Used to be a while back a thing about gigantic explosions, and how they were likely to be a galactic or even universal battle. Turned out it was the destruction of stars.
If it is a battle though, it makes me wonder what would be the cause of so great a conflagration?

I think their version of CERN finally fired up their Hadron collider, obviously underestimating what would happen.


I kid.

No, i have to agree thats its on the level of a natural phenomenon. Like RuneSpider said, it would have to be something of friggin GODLY proportions for a war like that to happen.

I dont think any civilization, advanced or not, could harness that much potent energy, and unleash it in an instataneous moment erasing out of existence everything in its way.

Nice thought, but highly unlikly.

to the OP! I think you brought up a really unique idea and perspective on this phenomenon.

Why couldn't it be a weapon being employed? If you believe in countless civilizations in the universe, no doubt many may be thousands or even millions of years more advanced than ours. Maybe Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, or Star Wars are just the tip of the iceberg concerning the way things may actually be "out there"! Perhaps Mankind's harnessing the atom is equivalent to a monkey lighting a fart to these advanced civilizations.

I think you really brought up an interesting idea! If this is really the case, Mankind had better mind his P's and Q's when it comes to drawing attention to himself!

Starred and Flagged my friend! For me, your post is keeping in the spirit of what ATS is all about.

[edit on 18-12-2007 by CreeWolf]

[edit on 18-12-2007 by CreeWolf]

And can I be the first to welcome our soon-to-be-intergalactic-engineering-overlords? Yes that's me waving a really huge white flag!

Seriously, though, this quote from the same link:

"Although we call it a death star galaxy, in the end it might be a source of new life in the more distant galaxy," said Dr Hardcastle.

speaks volumes.

If, by some astounding chance, we have managed to capture on "film" a deliberatley engineered event, maybe we're missreading its purpose. Why could it not be the work of a benevolent, space faring civilisation? Maybe there are races far, far out there who have the ability to instigate aeons-long plans that culminate in the creation of worlds, suns, and whole solar systems?

Re-shaping the universe to your own design truly is, as jarheadjock quite rightly said, of godly proportions, and the whole idea would, by its sheer scale, make a fantastic sci-fi story.

But then again, sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction.

Ah, nope. These are just what super-massive blackholes can do when they misbehave. These two galaxies just happened to get too close to eachother.

Black hole with reverse affect? Somewhere I read this was possible, like an eventual pull inside-out. Maybe the hole is pulling all its own galaxy's planets and stars into it and just blasting them to smithereens out its barrel. I mean, this massive jet needs fuel right?

Something tells me this alien civilization would not blow away another one at the expense of its own galaxy.

I'm sure it was a gamma ray burst, which happens when super massive black holes are feeding aka a quasar.

Alright..come on- talk about sensationalism..this is completely natural but hey you got people to reply to the post so thats something right!! NICE ONE hehe
On the scale of this event..we're not talking Aliens..we're talking GOD.

Originally posted by SantaClaus
Maybe the hole is pulling all its own galaxy's planets and stars into it and just blasting them to smithereens out its barrel. I mean, this massive jet needs fuel right?

Something tells me this alien civilization would not blow away another one at the expense of its own galaxy.

Why does it have to be their own galaxy? Maybe 'they' are from somewhere else altogether.

Somewhere much nearer Earth, for all we know.

This is explained, predicted and expected by the Electric Universe. It is a completely natural occurrence.

But the mainstream won't see it that way. Expect tales of magic unicorns and black holes.

Originally posted by Fractal
I'm sure it was a gamma ray burst, which happens when super massive black holes are feeding aka a quasar.

space.newscientist.com...

Your adherence to metaphysical nonsense is slowly eroding. There is no such thing as a black hole.

Yeah, probably a gamm-ray burst.

Just the same, I'd like to know what JediMiller thinks it might be.

F

maybe it's nothing more than a graphic that "someone" put on TV and the internet to keep our minds off of things that really matter.. i.e. it might be a complete hoax... afterall, wouldn't it be a good way to keep drawing funds if they discovered a giant death ray? "we'd better keep our eye on it... pass the champagne and pate will ya?".... now there's a conspiracy! imagine... creating the news... who's ever heard of such a thing?

What if we did it? Humans I mean. Some government scientist tinkering around with methods for deep-space travel or time travel. Maybe that's what it looks like when you mess up the space-time continueum and shove it through a wormhole. Then again, I guess it could have been some tinkering alien scientist too for that matter.

I do have to say in all seriousness though, interesting observation Astyanax

Originally posted by Fuggle

Yeah, probably a gamm-ray burst.

Just the same, I'd like to know what JediMiller thinks it might be.

F

Hi fuggle, well...I've taken those astronomy courses before and I've seen many shapes and forms. However I've seen the photograph and I can't make out the galaxy. Maybe the galaxy has separated in half already. From my observation, it looks like a simple nebulae type galaxy with gravity loss. But of course I've never seen anything like this before. if it is a black hole persay, center of the galaxy, it could be a star cluster just moving to another larger light source.

it could be that it's not really a ray or an attack but a way for that galaxy to migrate to another in order to survive and become part of it. This could be a transfer of galaxies. If the attacking galaxy was loosing it's center and gravity pull it might have looked for a near galaxy to move to. it's like saying that it moved out and it send out the center first. to be safe.

And look, this creation energy has a mind of it's own and it does what it feels it should. so basically, I don't think it's an attack, but a move by many gaseous particles and stars.

reply to post by Riposte


The link you provided was a good read. Interesting, and it makes sense to me.

reply to post by jedimiller


Thank you, Jedi.

Do you think there's any particular reason that we should be concerned or intrested in this migration? Or is it just some innocuous occurence with no impact wider than its own locality?

F

Originally posted by Fuggle

Do you think there's any particular reason that we should be concerned or intrested in this migration? Or is it just some innocuous occurence with no impact wider than its own locality?

No concern. other than maybe disturbing the localized solar systems in the galaxy I don't think the planets will feel the effects. Have you ever seen water particles attract eachother? like a drop of rain making it's way with another drop and becoming one. I think that's what happening here. If our mily way was to merge with andromeda, colliding over millions of year I think that will benefit both galaxies and make a stronger one larger galaxy in the end. of course this is all theory for now.