Cosmic Chaos

Astronomers spot exploding faraway star
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Mon May 7, 7:46 PM ET

A massive exploding faraway star — the brightest supernova astronomers have ever seen — has scientists wondering whether a similar celestial fireworks show may light up the sky much closer to Earth sometime soon.

The discovery, announced Monday by NASA, drew oohs and aahs for months from the handful of astronomers who peered through telescopes to see the fuzzy remnants of the spectacular explosion after it was first spotted last fall.

Using a variety of Earth and space telescopes, astronomers found a giant exploding star that they figure has shined about five times brighter than any of the hundreds of supernovae ever seen before, said discovery team leader Nathan Smith of the University of California at Berkeley. The discovery was first made last September by a graduate student in Texas.

"This one is way above anything else," Smith told The Associated Press. "It's really astonishing."

Smith said the star, SN2006gy, "is a special kind of supernova that has never been seen before." He called the star "freakily massive" at 150 times the mass of the sun.
Observations from the Chandra X-ray telescope helped show that it didn't become a black hole like other supernovae and skipped a stage of star death.

Unlike other exploding stars, which peak at brightness for a couple of weeks at most, this supernova, peaked for 70 days, according to NASA. And it has been shining at levels brighter than other supernovae for several months, Smith said.

And even at 240 million light years away, this star in a distant galaxy does suggest that a similar and relatively nearby star — one 44 quadrillion miles away — might blow in similar fashion any day now or 50,000 years from now, Smith said. It wouldn't threaten Earth, but it would be so bright that people could read by it at night, said University of California at Berkeley astronomer David Pooley. However, it would only be visible to people in the Southern Hemisphere, he said.

Matthew 24: 29 ~ Immediately after the distress of those days "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

Rev. 6:
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,and the earth will be shaken out of its place,at the wrath of the Lord of hostsin the day of his fierce anger.

There are numerous references to this event in both the Old and New Testament, and Jesus is probably quoting Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Joel. Stars falling to earth? Remember the old song? Oh, when the stars begin to fall...Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

Some say this is figurative speech for an event that happened in the past. Others say this is a future event that is very literal. Apparently, astronomers might tend to agree with the futurists.

They are compelled to consider what would happen if one of these supernovae occurred in our neighborhood, or if a comet should collide with earth (which is a possibility a couple of decades from now).

Still, the scriptures on this subject boggle the mind. We are tempted to say, "Aw, that's just ancient people with their less-than-sophisticated understanding of outer space."

What we can say is that the cosmos going nuts is a possibility. This has not happened in our recorded history. And can we really say we have ever seen "signs" like Jesus and the prophets were talking about? That would seem to make this a physical event yet future.

That is not to say we should be on pins and needles about this. What I am saying is that astronomers, seeing the information written in the sky, can't seem to help but speculate about what would happen if an unexpected event were to "shake the stars" in our neighborhood. It is not out of the realm of possibility.