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Hyperfast Star Proven To Be Alien

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A young star is speeding away from the Milky Way so fast that astronomers have been puzzled by where it came from; based on its young age it has traveled too far to have come from our galaxy.

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{"commentId":1413807,"authorDomain":"dwing"}

Does it have the necessary paperwork to enter our galaxy? Why is our galaxy letting in aliens!!

{"commentId":1413807,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"dwing"}
  • 11 votes
Reply#1 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:20 PM EST
{"commentId":1415403,"authorDomain":"Prilj"}

It should be forced to take a citizenship test. If, for example, it doesn't know why Pluto is no longer (and never should have been considered) a planet, then it can't, legally, enter our galaxy again. :)

{"commentId":1415403,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"Prilj"}
  • 2 votes
#1.1 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:57 PM EST
{"commentId":1415500,"authorDomain":"eric-albert"}

Thanks Diwing:

I love Physics and theoretical explanations, and this was an interesting seed.

{"commentId":1415500,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"eric-albert"}
  • 1 vote
#1.2 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:44 PM EST
{"commentId":1415573,"authorDomain":"hamid"}

Don't be ridiculous DWing, 35 million years old. The universe is only 6,000 years old, why, cause God said so...

{"commentId":1415573,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"hamid"}
  • 1 vote
#1.3 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:07 PM EST
{"commentId":1415711,"authorDomain":"tjthompson"}

God never said that.

{"commentId":1415711,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"tjthompson"}
    #1.4 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:01 PM EST
    {"commentId":1416315,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
    God never said that.

    Nah, He just did it.

    {"commentId":1416315,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
      #1.5 - Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:19 AM EST
      Reply
      {"commentId":1414028,"authorDomain":"Spaman"}

      It does seem to be an odd explanation for something travelling so fast - not being of a scientific bent gives me credence to challenge the view that this is a sun ......... My considered opinion is that it was a huge spaceship...

      I'm sure properties assigned to stars, could also be found in the trail of an object travelling in space containing organic life....

      As for that black hole causing the frenzy of this alleged young sun .... not sure I can see that causing so much speed....

      If it is a sun, then could it be a new type, could it be the result of a giant giant star exploding and sending out matter in the form of suns at high speed.

      No doubt I will publish my theorem on this very shortly, but I suspect well before that I shall be shot down in very hot star debris and allowed to slowly cool in some insignificant black hole...

      Interesting thought provoking article - thanks

      {"commentId":1414028,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"Spaman"}
      • 3 votes
      Reply#2 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 1:23 PM EST
      {"commentId":1414967,"authorDomain":"behindmyscreen"}

      .......wow.

      You have left me speachless.

      {"commentId":1414967,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"behindmyscreen"}
      • 4 votes
      #2.1 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:33 PM EST
      Reply
      {"commentId":1414622,"authorDomain":"njscoundrel"}

      "That's not a planet! That's a space station!"

      I knew Cheney was working on another Death Star.

      {"commentId":1414622,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"njscoundrel"}
      • 10 votes
      Reply#3 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:51 PM EST
      {"commentId":1414995,"authorDomain":"agio"}

      It's no moon either.

      {"commentId":1414995,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"agio"}
      • 1 vote
      #3.1 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:40 PM EST
      {"commentId":1415575,"authorDomain":"hamid"}

      Actually, it's a hypervelocity star, or a fat Tinkerbell...

      {"commentId":1415575,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"hamid"}
      • 2 votes
      #3.2 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:09 PM EST
      Reply
      {"commentId":1414724,"authorDomain":"chumsuet"}

      Fascinating - thanks for bringing the story to our attention.

      {"commentId":1414724,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"chumsuet"}
      • 1 vote
      Reply#4 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:23 PM EST
      {"commentId":1415588,"authorDomain":"silkmesh"}

      Inter galaxy traveller, could this be the enterprize travelling at warp 5?

      {"commentId":1415588,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"silkmesh"}
      • 2 votes
      Reply#5 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:13 PM EST
      {"commentId":1422284,"authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}

      If it is, it's gonna get a ticket from Intergalactic Space Rangers...

      "Whoa, whoa, there. Running a red light, going 1.6 million mph in a 1 million mph zone, running over a little old lady crossing the Milky Way...where's the fire?"

      {"commentId":1422284,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
      • 2 votes
      #5.1 - Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:58 PM EST
      Reply
      {"commentId":1415894,"authorDomain":"rsloan"}

      The main "proof" of this article lies in the assumption that because of it's composition it had to come from the center of the galaxy, and because of it's age and current location well outside that center, it must have arrived at its location increadibly fast. It seems like a bit of a stretch to me. Who's not to say the star could have formed with its composition well outside the center of the galaxy? As for jumping to conclusions about black holes or alien spaceships, I think that's alittle extreme as well. For this "paradox of youth" as the puzzled scientists call it, I'm going to refer to Occam's razor, which states that "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."
      Who isn't to say the comparitively young star didn't simply interact gravitationally with a larger star and accelerate off into space?

      {"commentId":1415894,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"rsloan"}
      • 1 vote
      Reply#6 - Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:55 PM EST
      {"commentId":1416238,"authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}

      You can google "hypervelocity star" and find all kinds of articles. Here is one from almost exactly 2 yrs ago in CS Monitor that does a pretty good job of explaining what they are.

      Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the first to go looking for stellar speedsters, say the duo are zooming away from the center of the Milky Way at up to 1.43 million miles per hour. At that pace, an object would cover the distance between the Earth and the moon in about 10 minutes - fast enough to allow a star to escape the galaxy's gravitational grip.

      They mention the term ' ejector seat' -- but I am holding out for a 'bungee jump' theory.

      {"commentId":1416238,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"MinnieApolis"}
      • 1 vote
      Reply#7 - Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:13 AM EST
      {"commentId":1416312,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}

      When I first read the headline, I expected something about the origins of the Flash, a Silver Surfer sighting, or a Dragonball Z reference.

      What a letdown. It's just a huge space-based fusion reactor chugging along at Mach 2000.

      {"commentId":1416312,"threadId":"210633","contentId":"1263574","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
        Reply#8 - Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:17 AM EST
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