Interestingly, they say that a GRB will not put a dent on Earth. On the contrary, I remember reading on several occasions on BA site that a GRB directed to Earth will have catastrophic effects.

Can someone set me straight on this?

Obviously, we need to read Phil’s new book to get the full story, but my understanding is this…

A nearby GRB would have no effect on the Earth at all. It will not alter its rotation, nor its revolution about Sol. Neither will it strip away the atmosphere (unless it’s really, really close!) or boil the oceans.

However, a nearby GRB would likely kill pretty nearly every living thing on one half of the planet. (Deep ocean creatures are fairly safe, because the sheer depth of water makes a pretty good radiation shield, even against gamma rays. Also, anything that lives under rocks (and stays there) is likely to be spared the worst of the radiation, but may not be able to find anything to eat afterwards.)

Yeah, she is sultry. There were many versions of that video at various video hosting web-sites; some were poor quality, others had over-dramatic musical soundtracks or some other rubbish added. I had to do quite a bit of searching until I eventually found a high-quality video with the original Japanese soundtrack and English sub-titles. I provide nothing but the best for Bad Astronomy readers!

You’re welcome, mate. Are the pills working?

Original (UK) Amazon delivery estimate was yesterday. Today I get: “Dear Customer, We’re still trying to obtain…”

Oh my god…