Flash ... Hubble's nova pic
Super dangerous ... the star may explode with force of 20 billion billion billion megatons of TNT 超危險...
死亡之星
The death star
By PAUL SUTHERLAND
Sun Spaceman
Published: Today
A STAR primed to explode in a blast that could wipe out the Earth was revealed by astronomers yesterday.
一粒星已經準備好爆炸，這爆炸可能毀滅地球，美國天文學家們昨天透露。
It will self-destruct in an explosion called a supernova with the force of 20 billion billion billion megatons of TNT.
它將在一個稱為超新星爆炸中自毀，有二百億個二＋億個二十億兆噸黃色TNT炸藥的力量。
New studies show the star, called T Pyxidis, is much closer than previously thought at 3,260 light-years away - a short hop in galactic terms.
一項新的研究顯示那星，稱為T Pyxidis，比以前所想更為接近，在3260光年遠--在銀河系術語中只是一陣間。
Risk ... impression of T Pyxidis
危機...Pyxidis 印像
So the blast from the thermonuclear explosion could strip away our ozone layer that keeps out deadly space radiation. Life on Earth would then be frazzled.
因此，熱核爆炸的爆炸可能除去我們的臭氧層，它阻擋致命的太空輻射，沒那地球上的生命然後將疲於奔命。
The doomsday scenario was described yesterday by astronomers from Villanova University, Philadelphia, US.
昨天美國費城維拉諾瓦大學天文學家們描繪末日的情況。
They said the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite has shown them that T Pyxidis is really two stars, one called a white dwarf that is sucking in gas and steadily growing. When it reaches a critical mass it will blow itself to pieces.
他們說國際紫外線探測衛星顯示，T Pyxidis實際上是兩粒星，一粒被稱為白矮星，它會吸啜氣體和穩步增長，當到達一個臨界量它會將自己炸到粉身碎骨。
It will become as bright as all the other stars in the galaxy put together and shine like a beacon halfway across the universe.
The experts said the Hubble space telescope has photographed the star gearing up for its big bang with a series of smaller blasts or "burps", called novas.
These explosions came regularly about every 20 years from 1890 - but stopped after 1967.
So the next blast is nearly 20 years overdue, said scientists Edward M Sion, Patrick Godon and Timothy McClain at the American Astronomical Society in Washington. Robin Scagell, vice-president of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy, said last night: "The star may certainly became a supernova soon - but soon could still be a long way off so don't have nightmares."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2795981/Supernova-may-wipe-out-the-Earth.html
Disc:
http://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=11296751&extra=page%3D1&page=1
http://www5.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=9242167&extra=page%3D1
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