2012 and Planet X News Blog

Yesterday, on the day of the passing of one of Science Fiction’s icons, Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the universe put on a spectacular show, perhaps to welcome his spirit to the other side, or Heaven. 

A huge star used up all its fuel and collapsed in on itself some 7.5 billion years or so ago, and the light from the explosion just arrived yesterday, according to Discovery News.

Brightest Ever Cosmic Blast Spotted

AFP

March 21, 2008 — NASA has detected the brightest cosmic explosion ever recorded — a massive burst of energy 7.5 billion light years away that could be seen with the naked eye from Earth, the space agency said.

The explosion, a gamma ray burst older than Earth itself, was monitored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Swift satellite and shattered the record for the most distant object seen without visual aid.

“No other known object or type of explosion could be seen by the naked eye at such an immense distance,” said Swift team member Stephen Holland of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Discovery News does not expect Earth to suffer from the burst, however, because the burst occurred too far away.  Had the burst been within range, it could have obliterated our ozone layer, killing over 90% of life on the planet.

So, for now, we’re safe.  Still, this kind of thing bears watching.

Catch you on the backside!

Janice Manning

2012 and Planet X Bulletin