2 Suns? No nighttime? 2012?? Oh shit!!!

[DocApocalypto]

Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily.
Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky’s brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time.


When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we’d see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe.
The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says… or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth, reports news.com.au.


But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. If the star does go super-nova, Earth will be showered with harmless particles, according to Carter. “They will flood through the Earth and bizarrely enough, even though the supernova we see visually will light up the night sky, 99 per cent of the energy in the supernova is released in these particles that will come through our bodies and through the Earth with absolutely no harm whatsoever,”

 

[jorarulit]

cool ман

 

[amateursurgeon]

Only for it to light up the night sky in 2012, it would have had to have blown up 640 years ago.

 

[crackp0t]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV2m6tgtIVQ&feature=related]YouTube - Wife swap - Zombies[/ame]

The bitch might be right!@#

 

[DanGlobalizer]

Only for it to light up the night sky in 2012, it would have had to have blown up 640 years ago.

Exactly - if it could go super-nova "at any time", it either has already, or won't affect Earth until after we're all long gone.

 

[BradleyT2p2]

Only for it to light up the night sky in 2012, it would have had to have blown up 640 years ago.

That's also what makes the search for other intelligent life so difficult. We're here on earth searching during a couple hundred year period out of a 6 billion year planet lifespan. There could easily have been life somewhere else say 20 million years ago or 280 million years in the future but we'll never see it because we're searching right now.

 

[lukep]

...Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe.

Instant credibility loss. This is impossible, even for a moment, since Betelgeuse is in Orion and it's fixed in the sky.

The Earth travels around the sun, so it's going to have both the sun and Betelgeuse on the same side of it for a good part of the year...

And other than that, Orion would have to stay on the planetary plain for full light coverage even while they oppose each other... It doesn't just move with our planet's rotation, there is major yearly apparent movement due to revolution around the sun as well. (Half the year it's more visible to the Northern hemisphere and half to the south.

No self-respecting astronomer would allow his words to be mangled like this in public. His university would sue the press for misrepresentation. (Namely making him the laughingstock of the astronomical society.)

It would be quite interesting to see what so much LESS nightime would do to the nocturnal critters of the Earth. Me included, although the wifey would love it.

 

[ebtek]

brb designing sleeping goggles to be made in china

 

[Alexpte]

Only for it to light up the night sky in 2012, it would have had to have blown up 640 years ago.

What makes you so sure that it didn't blow up 640 years ago?

I'm not saying there's anything in this story - I haven't read it properly - but if it looks to us NOW like it's about to go supernova, then that's all that really matters. The information about its loss of mass is delayed by the same time as any consequences of it going supernova.

 

[WildGunner]

Two suns up there already.

 

[Deliguy]

uhhg
when did astronomers start writing linkbait?

First the astrological sign change now this.
Guess what we could be merging with the Andromeda galaxy right now and the earth as one of the outer solar systems could be completely destroyed and ripped apart by gravity in the process or even throw completely out of the galaxy. It probably won't happen for another 2b years but I won't include that in the article. Instead I'll make it sound all intense and last minute. Like ZOMG!

 

[wanna-succeed]

Exactly - if it could go super-nova "at any time", it either has already, or won't affect Earth until after we're all long gone.

I don't know about you, however I plan on being alive and kicking i 640 years!!! I will respawn ---->:spawn:----->:boid:

 

[lukep]

Well that didn't take long to Debunk...

DON'T PANIC! Betelgeuse Won't Explode in 2012 : Discovery News

 

[Fatbat]

What does it mean!?

 

[Andrey]

I think they are trying to brainwash us about 2012 by coming out with all random ass shit. Just cause the guy is a "scientist" does not mean shit, all it means he got a certain kind of education..

 

[nickster]

Well it could happen in 2012 or within the next MILLION years!!!! Everybody panic! haha

 

[bizzykehl]

uhhg
when did astronomers start writing linkbait?

First the astrological sign change now this.
Guess what we could be merging with the Andromeda galaxy right now and the earth as one of the outer solar systems could be completely destroyed and ripped apart by gravity in the process or even throw completely out of the galaxy. It probably won't happen for another 2b years but I won't include that in the article. Instead I'll make it sound all intense and last minute. Like ZOMG!

I've really been blown away recently by the amount of sheer bullshit being sensationalized and regurgitated all over the place (science-related). No fact checking at all... but the real sad part is that it doesn't even matter because the line between legitimate news and tabloid has been to blurred.