mini blasts of cosmic rays confuse scientists

[ChairmanAgnostic]

Poll question: mini blasts of cosmic rays confuse scientists

when stars of sufficient mass collapse, (More than 1.5 times the size of Sol) they can collapse out of normal space and become black holes. What follows is a long, huge cosmic ray shower that allows astronomers to locate newly formed black holes.

But, like fire works in the far reaches of the universe, tiny, short blasts of cosmic rays keep showing up.

here's more from the NASA site

"We have had good evidence since the 1990s that the short bursts and long bursts were different classes," Gehrels explains. "It had to do with their gamma ray properties." Not only do the short bursts last less than about 2 seconds, the spectrum of light they emit is distinct. Gamma rays from short bursts lean toward the high-energy end of the spectrum, while long GRBs emit lower-energy gamma rays.

The differences were highlighted in 2005 when, for the first time, telescopes caught sight of short GRB afterglows. The fading debris contained no supernova, arguing against the collapse of a massive star. George Ricker of MIT, principal investigator of NASA's HETE (High Energy and Transient Explorer) satellite, famously likened a short burst on July 9, 2005, to "the dog that didn't bark

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/20oct_briefmystery.htm?list67921

http://snipurl.com/4jexz


So, here's the question. What is the source of the mini-cosmic ray blasts?

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. I'll say 'other' -

one of the known unknowns.

But I must admit, the intergalactic war was my first thought.

[damntexdem]

2. I went for the cosmic warriors, but ...

I'm not so sure that they're using the highest-tech weapons -- Intergalactic Arms Control treaties may be limiting them to old, limited weapons. Hence the shortness of the bursts. ;-)

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. like a Doomsecond Device, huh?

[Nihil]

11. Not so much "highest-tech" weapons ...

... but I vote for reaver ships blowing up when the shielding
finally gives way (or they collide) ...
:-)

[metapunditedgy]

13. I hope you're wrong, because we're surrounded.

The bursts are seen all over the sky.

[soothsayer]

4. Morse code?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. galactic semaphore?

[melody]

5. Other: Beats the hell out of me

:shrug:

[lynnertic]

6. .

[Mabus]

7. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are on their way!

Yay! After the rapture, the party is at my house!

[Caradoc]

9. As good an explanation as any...

Attention! Attention! Can I have your attention for the following announcement!

Contrary to popular belief, astronomers know and understand far less than they are ever willing to admit. In fact, they are so fearful of having to actually say 'I have no idea' that they go to extreme lengths to discredit anyone who so much as ventures a suggestion that perhaps there are other forces at work besides gravity (electro-magnetism; see the electric universe theory), that the 'red shift' is very poorly understood and that Einstein's theories were at best 'incomplete' and at worst 'flat-out wrong.'

Remember folks...when an astronomer does admit 'we don't understand this fully yet' they are actually saying 'we don't fully understand how to make these new observations fit into the established theories.'

[Indenturedebtor]

10. Just because everything isn't understood doesn't mean that nothing is n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. hey, it took christianity 1500 years to understand nothing.

with some cults still in the dark.

when they realized that "0" signified zero, it revolutionized thinking. ie. they started it. At one point proponents of "0" were even accused of conspiring with the devil.

[bananas]

14. Dr. Who's Tardis machine nt.