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Re: (meteorobs) US Academic System
And the travesty is that you will probably get more from this site than you
will from that class. I am amazed at the knowledge of the people on this site
and what I have absorbed through osmosis!This is not directly, or possibly
indirectly, related to meteors, but I read a front page article in the
Washington Post 2 days ago regarding an intense flash of radiation on August
27. indicating the existence of a new kind of star, referred to as a magnetar.
Does anyone know anything about this? According to the article, the burst of
gamma rays and xrays which lasted over five minutes , penetrated the
ionisphere, turning night into day to within 30 miles of the earth's surface
although the star is estimated to be 20,000 light years away with a radius the
same as inside the Washington Beltway but a mass greater than that of our sun.
Am I correctly interpreting this to mean that we were within 30 miles of being
toasted?
Thanks, Joy