New research shows that some old stars might be held up by their rapid spins, and when they slow down, they explode as supernovae. Thousands of these "time bombs" could be scattered throughout our Galaxy.
Why could this be important? A massive white dwarf star in our galaxy may become a supernova several million years from now, and could possibly destroy life on Earth. Most astronomers today believe that one of the plausible reasons we have yet to detect intelligent life in the universe is due to the deadly effects of local supernova explosions that wipe out all life in a given region of a galaxy.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Milky Way Might Harbor Thousands of Ticking Supernova 'Time Bombs'
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