Real Science for us Nerdly Types.

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

Just thought I would post this article, in case there are other science officers who cringe whenever a sim takes a turn into "extreme unreal" science and positively drool whenever a glorious tidbit of real science can fit into a sim.

 

COSMIC EXPLOSION COULD BE BLACK HOLE SWALLOWING NEUTRON STAR

Scientists using the NASA Swift satellite have found evidence of a black hole swallowing a neutron star. The discovery is reported in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Nature. This rare event, seen on July 24, created a gamma-ray burst that lasted only for a few milliseconds. Observations of the lingering afterglow, however, provided evidence of what could have been the bizarre demise of a neutron star orbiting a black hole. The black hole may have first stretched the dense neutron star into a crescent, breaking off crumbs in the process. The black hole then could have swallowed the star largely in one gulp, feeding on the crumbs in the minutes and hours that followed. Such a black hole would grow more massive, like a python that downs a wild boar. In recent months the Swift team has reported that "short" gamma-ray bursts arise from a merger either between two neutron stars or a neutron star and black hole. The specific scenario was not clear. This latest analysis of a July burst, although not definitive, is the best evidence of a black hole-neutron star merger.

Read the full story at http://live.psu.edu/story/15131

 

After all,

 

WE ARE . . .PENN STATE!

[WesleyMustDie 0]

Awesome. That sounds like something right out of Discover magazine...I love astronomy...

[eagle 0]

Excellent report..NASA,and nova have some intresting info at their respective

web sites as well.

[eagle 0]

Not where i hail from....

[Elgor 0]

Ah Texas one of the last outposts of math and science. That is the place you are talking about right?

[eagle 0]

No....Elgor...actually i was speaking of the university of south florida.....go

seminoles. B) ;)

[Elgor 0]

eh both states have had about seven flags