Expert: Philip Stahl - 7/14/2008

Question
QUESTION: i was wondering; since you seem very knowledgeable.

-what's your opinion of stars such as WR 10 and other's similar to it such as Eta Carinae?

-and are these too far away to affect us in a negative way...etc .......will these even produce GRB because i've heard that grb are rare in metal rich galaxies.

..


ANSWER: Hello,

At 8500 light years, Eta Carinae is a good distance away and the inverse square law for radiation (reducing its intensity as the inverse square of distance) still works quite well. So, as I have told other inquirers, I would not lose any sleep over any possible future antics. This includes for WR 10. (And as I believe I noted to another inquirer, we get more GRBs from the Sun!)

In the end, even if we are in the sphere of disaster for effects of a major supernova, worrying about it won't make a dime's worth of difference. If it's "checkout time" (read - extinction time) for humans, so be it. Stopping an incoming asteroid is a different wtory and we should be able to do that with the technology we have.

And at least mitigating the worst effects of global warming ought to be another possible outcome - and what I regard as a prima facie test of human intelligence.

In other words, there are many more things closer to home to be concerned about - than distant stars or objects like Eta Carinae.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: whoops sorry i meant WR 104 ..
but its about the same distance so i suppose gamma ray bursts from it as well couldn't harm us?

the only reason i'm asking is because i would rather know if its going to kill us or not then sit and be worried about possible unknowns reguarding WR 104 and eta can..

wr 104 has a 16 degree tilt away from us so i assume your conclusion holds true for this star as well??

and thanks for the first answer it was helpful, i appreciate it

Answer
Here's the bottom line: the odds of either of those stars going supernova and "killing us" before the runaway greenhouse effect (here on Earth) does, are about the same as winning five Powerball lottoes in a row. In other words, next to zero.

As I said, the runaway greenhouse effect is a much bigger threat and much closer - right here on Earth. Its consequences will be a thousand times more grave than any from either of those distant stars and we'd be well advised to pay more attention to what is right in front of our noses as opposed to hundreds or thousands of light years distant.