BLOG VIEW | HEADLINE VIEW

GEEK

Sagittarius Wants to Kill You

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12 2008 6:00 AM

Submitted by Flux. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: cosmos, space, science, black hole, supernova, gamma ray, Hulk, Sagittarius

One of the reasons why I’ve had a hard time completely rejecting astrology is the fact that I’m such a stereotypical Sagittarius: the optimistic, free-spirited (clumsy, arrogant, slutty) philosopher. The Archer is a friendly constellation, flanked by stinging Scorpio, the cosmic douchebag, and Capricorn, which is some sort of bizarre goat-fish abomination. Screw those guys. The wise centaur Chiron whom Sagittarius represents smiles upon mankind, offering the blessings of knowledge, and through Sagittarius lies the center of the Milky Way, which I’m sure is symbolic of something. In a nutshell (terrible joke), I am down with the Archer.

Imagine my dismay when I learned that deep in my natal constellation whirls Wolf-Rayet 104, a binary star system in the final stages prior to supernova. This so-called “Death Star” was discovered by University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill, who so delightfully informs us that, upon supernova, “It could emit an intense beam of gamma rays coming our way.” The beautiful spiral images that we have of WR104 are the result of our pole-on view of the star system; when it goes into supernova, it looks awfully possible that the gamma ray burst it’s bound to emit is pointed in our direction. Totally sweet.

Now, if you’re like me, you only know a few things about gamma rays: that they make you quite irritable and that they cause some sort of an irrepressible need to wear purple shorts. Terrified at the consequences for my wardrobe, I investigated further:

In the worst-case scenario of an aligned GRB, what then?

Consequences are mainly related to global impacts on the biosphere and climate-change triggered by the large dose of radiation.

The good news is that we are not all *that* close to WR 104. For a fully-fledged GRB, we may be within the dangerous range but it is by no means a point-blank shot. If SN/GRBs form a continuum of events ranging from highly directed gamma beams through to slightly egg-shaped supernovae, then this means that we are safe from all but the more extreme focussed beam events. To carry a lot of clout over larger distances, a smaller cone angle is needed, tilting the odds and making it increasingly less likely that Earth is in the beam.

From the WR104 Technical FAQ.

So, according to Dr. Tuthill, if we’re in firing range, we’re headed for mass extinction. But it’s not certain (and it may happen a few thousand years from now), so y’all can (probably) rest easy.

Or not.

Because at the heart of Sagittarius also lies the closest black hole to Earth, merely 1,600 light years away. Not content with just one, Sagittarius also houses another black hole, Sagittarius A*, the closest supermassive black hole to Earth, conveniently located at the galactic center. Both offer us invaluable information about the activities of black holes due to their proximity. Because, you know, black holes are definitely the outer space phenomenon that we want to be close to. Awesome.

So, basically Sagittarius wants to shoot us with cancer rays, and if we get near it, we’ll get eaten by a black hole.

Why is Sagittarius such a fucking asshole?

So here I type, disenchanted with the Archer whom I once gazed upon happily, probably stoned, with a bunch of astronomer friends from Portland in my seemingly distant youth. Now I look cynically upon the stars, knowing that the constellation for which I once held such affection just wants to kill me.

But the Universe is just and poetic. The closest galaxy to our own is the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, discovered in 1994. It is slowly being torn apart by the gravitational forces of the Milky Way.

So, to that I say:

MILKY WAY #1! MIL-KY WAY! MIL-KY WAY! WOOOOOOOO!

Flux knows that the black holes in Sagittarius don’t really pose much of a threat to us, but she still thinks that Sagittarius is a total dick. Which, come to think of it, only makes it an even more appropriate zodiac sign for your intrepid correspondent.

71 Comments

PAGE:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Narghile

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

MAR 12, 2008 06:11 AM

Fluffy Bunny.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Chainlink

Dickeyville, WI

August 2005

MAR 12, 2008 06:46 AM

I'm not surprised. I've always suspected the Universe was trying to kill me.

scorp17yh

Brookings, OR

November 2004

MAR 12, 2008 06:59 AM

I was only following orders from Mother Earth :-)

And when a Sag' and Scorp' unite well,
Watch Out World

AngelDevoid

Durham, NC

January 2008

MAR 12, 2008 07:43 AM

Wolf-Rayat 104 is definitely pointed at us (or very close to it), but the question is still its distance, whether it will go into a gamma ray burst, and how far that burst would go. The timeframe is very small, hundreds of thousands of years, but may be too large for our species. I am not sure. For distance it is 8K LY plus or minus 3K. So a lot of variable there.

There is another troubling calamity coming from the dwarf galaxy. It will merge into our own Milky Way galaxy. But in the process, stars will move in and out of spiral arms in a much more haphazard way than their much slower period now. Some planets could be shorn off their stars, but that is unlikely. We will still be a spiral galaxy, albeit a reconfigured one.

All of this just means that if we do turn into a spacefaring race, we have to be careful to calculate which worlds will be where after the galaxies merge. The timeframe for this would be hundreds of millions of years. I am sure they would have things figured out by then if we are still around.

And this assumes we survived Wolf-Rayat 104. Gamma rays are bad juju. Maybe we should burn the Sag's at the stake in the Mad Max dark winter to follow the GRB? At least we would have a fuel source then.

If you want an up close look at W-R 104, see if you can get some time on SALT, SOAR, or the PROMPT Array through Skynet. Or piggyback on the feed while they look. They have some great stuff. Who knows, you may figure this thing out and save us all (or at least put our minds at ease).

Sea-goat out.

RanusStudios

Cornwall On Hudson, NY

July 2007

MAR 12, 2008 09:13 AM

I love this article so hard.

DamionW

Philadelphia, PA

March 2006

MAR 12, 2008 09:57 AM

heh. nutshell.

Lungshadow

Tucson, AZ

January 2007

MAR 12, 2008 10:30 AM

As a Sag, I relate. I hate people, yet at the same time, I love them for just being the way they are... you know, unless we advance as a civilization, we will perish looking down the barrel of some cosmic (or terrestral) undoing. It's a pity that the savior to mankind is currently sulking in a Type II Bi-Polar induced phase and keeping the screts to our survival all to him/herself.

It's the ultimate middle finger.

Cherry

SUICIDEGIRL

British Columbia, Canada

MAR 12, 2008 10:36 AM

I adore your writing. Also, I read about the supernova just the other day and I thought "I wonder if Flux has read this" and forgot to post the link. Still, I should have had faith that you were all up on the Sagittarius front.

Now I know how to explain away those times when people think I am being a complete bitch. Oh! It's not my fault, did you know I'm a Sagittarius? Yeah, I'll destroy you.... maybe.

Also, this makes me wonder if you've read the Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson? I'm reading it right now and it's enthralling. I am technically still on the first book, but that's amazing. His research was quite thorough and discusses all kinds of space radiation.

But, who am I talking to? I'd be highly surprised if you haven't read it. xx.

Cherry

SUICIDEGIRL

British Columbia, Canada

MAR 12, 2008 10:37 AM

Lungshadow said:
As a Sag, I relate. I hate people, yet at the same time, I love them for just being the way they are... you know, unless we advance as a civilization, we will perish looking down the barrel of some cosmic (or terrestral) undoing. It's a pity that the savior to mankind is currently sulking in a Type II Bi-Polar induced phase and keeping the screts to our survival all to him/herself.

It's the ultimate middle finger.

Genius.

PerilousPup

I'm lost

May 2007

MAR 12, 2008 10:56 AM

I am so glad that I am an aries male and will be completely unaffected by anything sagittarius or any other constellation may throw at me.

PerilousPup

I'm lost

May 2007

MAR 12, 2008 11:01 AM

Now, if you're like me, you only know a few things about gamma rays: that they make you quite irritable and that they cause some sort of an irrepressible need to wear purple shorts. Terrified at the consequences for my wardrobe, I investigated further:

I agree, very few people can pull off the purple wardrobe....

WrockinWrooster

USA

March 2006

MAR 12, 2008 11:04 AM

The universe IS just and poetic as opposed to us sad little monkeys.

Leos rule.

Seriously

AcidGrampa

Los Angeles, CA

September 2003

MAR 12, 2008 11:27 AM

There are supporting facts.
One big one is the nakshatra called Mula and its ruler Ketu.
Plenty of agro there.

Oh and the other nakshatras in Sag? All about war.

Sag (in its role as pointer towards the galactic center) is also right at the core of the 2112 thing, and so may destroy us kosmically, as well as cosmically.

Then there's the who centaur thing. We all know that they are capricious dicks who would just as soon kill you as fart in your direction.

From one Sag to another, I say: Think and Destroy.

Narghile

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

MAR 12, 2008 11:34 AM

AcidGrampa said:
There are supporting facts.
One big one is the nakshatra called Mula and its ruler Ketu.
Plenty of agro there.

Sag (in its role as pointer towards the galactic center) is also right at the core of the 2112 thing, and so may destroy us kosmically, as well as cosmically.

Then there's the who centaur thing. We all know that they are capricious dicks who would just as soon kill you as fart in your direction.

From one Sag to another, I say: Think and Destroy.

[Citation needed]