Huge Hydrogen Cloud Will Hit Milky Way

[popowich]

A hydrogen cloud, eleven thousand light-years long, will collide with the Milky Way (http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2008/smithscloud/) in a devastating crossfire of shock waves and star formation...in 20-40 million years. Mark your calendars. At least it will give us something to watch while we're waiting for Andromeda (http://www.solstation.com/x-objects/andromeda.htm) to hit us in a few billion years. Hopefully, it will look at least this cool (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/46/image/a/format/xlarge_web/). "The detailed GBT study dramatically changed the astronomers' understanding of the cloud. Its velocity shows that it is falling into the Milky Way, not leaving it, and the new data show that it is plowing up Milky Way gas before it as it falls. 'Its shape, somewhat similar to that of a comet, indicates that it's already hitting gas in our Galaxy's outskirts,' Lockman said. 'It is also feeling a tidal force from the gravity of the Milky Way and may be in the process of being torn apart. Our Galaxy will get a rain of gas from this cloud, then in about 20 to 40 million years, the cloud's core will smash into the Milky Way's plane,' Lockman explained."

[THERESA]

Stuff like this scares me. It makes me think of meteors hitting the earth. :eek:

[popowich]

Based on the history of the big sized ones we know about we're overdue for a good sized strike. By good sized I mean large enough to wipe out a city, not big enough to cause any permanent global damage. There is an asteroid that might come very close in 2036 named Apophis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis). There are so many things that can go wrong it's really not worth worrying about them. Most things you won't even see coming, or they'll be smart enough not to tell us about them. ;)

-Raymond

[THERESA]

Gee thanks you made me feel so much better.

[popowich]

For those that like stats, here are your odds of dying (http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm).

(Yeah, I know, 100% :laughing6:)

-Raymond

[THERESA]

For those that like stats, here are your odds of dying (http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm).

(Yeah, I know, 100% :laughing6:)

-Raymond

:( JERK!!!

[RocCityDad]

:( JERK!!!

Ditto

[THERESA]

Ditto

Funny I thought about what we were talking about on Saturday on the way to taking the kids to the pet thing when I read this stuff and knew you would be thinking the same thing.