As Americans continue to struggle with the never-ending task of properly placing blame for the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a disaster with untold intergalactic ramifications has gone virtually unnoticed.
As you read this, Magnetar SGR 1806-20 is dying:
Astronomers have found the first evidence of cracks in a neutron star's crust. The star cracked when it was rocked by the strongest "starquake" ever recorded...There is no word yet as to why it took Earth based astronomers nearly ten months to assess the damage caused by this unprecedented starquake.
Last December, astronomers worldwide monitored the explosion that caused this starquake. The eruption was huge- in the first 200 milliseconds of the event the star released energy equivalent to what our Sun produces in 250,000 years. It was the brightest explosion ever detected outside of the Milky Way.
Now scientists have used a collection of data from various satellites to provide the first observational evidence that the blast caused the star to form cracks several miles long.
Local SGR 1806-20 officials, who were caught completely unprepared despite having detailed evacuation plans specifically addressing crustal cracking, were quick to place blame on former FEMA director Michael Brown and the White House.
Neither Mr. Brown nor President Bush could be reached for comment.
Developing...
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