300Supernova Explosion

posted by Jeffrey on May 8th, 2007

There’s something about a star 150 times the size of our sun exploding that makes me wonder about a great many things, both big and small.

CNN Space & Science released images of supernova SN 2006gy’s explosion yesterday. It is believed to be the brightest stellar explosion on record, and exploded in such a way that only the very first generation of stars in the universe are believed to have exploded. (*Note that the image at right is an artist’s rendition of what the explosion of supernova SN 2006gy might have looked like.)

Is that intriguing and mysterious to anyone else but me?

Before astronomers observed SN 2006gy’s explosion, such a stellar death existed only in theory.

“A huge star in the Milky Way, Eta Carinae, has already erupted in a similar fashion. So if it explodes as a supernova, it could present the best light show seen, because it is a mere 7,500 light years away from our planet”, says the CNN.com story.

So what thoughts does such an event birth in my twisted mind?

Some are simple, some complex. Some shall not be mentioned in such a forum as this…yet.

For now, however, I will share that I wonder if we are “alone” in the universe. I wonder if we are, then why does such a great expanse exist? If the life and the physical cosmos exist only as we experience it with our senses, then what would the death of such a star mean to us here and now? In the same vein, If life and the physical cosmos are merely shadows of a greater, more real, existence that many of us have yet to wake up to, what does the death of such a great star mean? Anything?

I suppose that is all the rambling I shall do for one day. Does the explosion of such a great, bright, and old star invoke any questions in you? If so, care to share?

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