Strike deathray from list of concerns?

[Ivan Seeking]

Doomsayers and Chicken Little-types can now strike "deathray from a star" from their list of possible ways to die.

A new study finds that the chances of a gamma ray burst going off in our galaxy and destroying life on Earth are comfortingly close to zero. [continued]

http://space.com/scienceastronomy/060424_mm_star_deathray.html

 

[wolram]

http://space.com/scienceastronomy/060424_mm_star_deathray.html

Now what am i going to do with my bill boards.

 

[Chronos]

There are dissenting opinions on the possibility of GRB's detonating in our galaxy. Metallicity appears to be a factor, but, does not rule out a rogue, low metallicity, star going GRB in a satellite galaxy.

 

[Astronuc]

There are dissenting opinions on the possibility of GRB's detonating in our galaxy. Metallicity appears to be a factor, but, does not rule out a rogue, low metallicity, star going GRB in a satellite galaxy.

As in the Magellanic Clouds or Andromeda galaxy, or one further away?
Local group - http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html
Galactic groups - http://www.seds.org/messier/g-group.html

There was recently - a neutron star that erupted is SGR 1806-20, about 50,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The light detected from the giant flare was far brighter in gamma rays than visible light or X-rays.

. . . .

"The next biggest flare ever seen from any soft gamma repeater was peanuts compared to this incredible December 27 event, said Dr. Bryan Gaensler of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, lead author on the Nature paper. Had this happened within 10 light years of us, it would have severely damaged our atmosphere and possibly have triggered a mass extinction. Fortunately there are no magnetars anywhere near us."

http://www.everything-science.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGR_1806-20
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/swift_nsu_0205.html

 

[Tzemach]

Gee it's good to know that the universe is not planning to wipe us out, but that doesn't guarantee some mad despot is not planning an energy beam weapon to fry us all - I have seen James Bond movies. It could happen, the establishment are just trying to lull us into a false sense of security so we keep working and pay our taxes.