Colossal star explosion detected

[Notebook]

Astronomers have seen what could be the most powerful supernova ever detected.
The exploding star was first observed back in June last year but is still radiating vast amounts of energy.
At its peak, the event was 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova, making it shine with 570 billion times the brightness of our Sun.
Researchers think the explosion and ongoing activity have been boosted by a very dense, highly magnetised, remnant object called a magnetar.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35315509

 

[Andy44]

570 billion times the brightness of our Sun

That's beyond my ability to even imagine.

 

[Notebook]

I'm right behind you.

N.

Best place I think...

 

[boogabooga]

At that brightness, would even things we consider opaque pretty much be transparent?

Like, a few inches of steel?

 

[ADSWNJ]

Get the marshmallows out, stick on the spike of a big telescope and point in he right direction to warm them up

 

[Andy44]

At that brightness, would even things we consider opaque pretty much be transparent?

Like, a few inches of steel?

Or how about a whole planet. Imagine standing on a planet's night side and the star shines up through the ground beneath your feet. I don't think that's possible, but it would be cool for the last few moments of your life anyway.

 

[boogabooga]

I would imagine that light reflected from distant planets would be blinding.

 

[Donamy]

Even facing away from it.

 

[fsci123]

I feel sorry for whatever life forms are in that Galaxy. Probably multiple mass extinction events happening everywhere.

 

[Artlav]

I would imagine that light reflected from distant planets would be blinding.

Planets?
Light reflected from the cosmic dust would vaporize you instantly.
Either that, or twilight - the light bent around the planet by the air.

Come to think of it, even neutrino radiation is going be so hard it would kill you, and that can't be slowed down by a planet or a need to reflect the way light would.

Being an AU or two away from a supernova is really not safe for being a solid.

 

[jedidia]

At that brightness, would even things we consider opaque pretty much be transparent?

That's not how transparacy works as a material property. While it is true that depending on the distance to a lightsource of that magnitude anything would become transparent, it would do so by virtue of turning into gas or even plasma. In fact, only a 100% transparent (or reflective) material (on all wavelengths, no such thing of course) could avoid that fate.

 

[Andy44]

Even facing away from it.

Imagine light shining through the back of your head onto your retina from the back side. That is awesome, in the old sense of the word, meaning "to inspire awe".

 

[APDAF]

For 0.000000000000000000000001 seconds :rofl:

 

[Fizyk]

Planets?
Light reflected from the cosmic dust would vaporize you instantly.
Either that, or twilight - the light bent around the planet by the air.

Come to think of it, even neutrino radiation is going be so hard it would kill you, and that can't be slowed down by a planet or a need to reflect the way light would.

Being an AU or two away from a supernova is really not safe for being a solid.

Obligatory xkcd: http://what-if.xkcd.com/73/

My favorite quote:

The physicist who mentioned this problem to me told me his rule of thumb for estimating supernova-related numbers: However big you think supernovae are, they're bigger than that.
Here's a question to give you a sense of scale:
Which of the following would be brighter, in terms of the amount of energy delivered to your retina:
1. A supernova, seen from as far away as the Sun is from the Earth, or
2. The detonation of a hydrogen bomb pressed against your eyeball?
Applying the physicist rule of thumb suggests that the supernova is brighter. And indeed, it is ... by nine orders of magnitude.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

570 billion times the brightness of our Sun

I really don't think "brightness" conveys this idea anymore. "Having your component molecules instantaneously blasted into space by a deluge of photons" is more like it.

Anybody not wearing 2 million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day.