Prophetic Fireworks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sandra]

>Some have asked if there are any nearby stars that might go supernova and
>destroy the earth. Supernovae are produced form red-giant stars or from
>white dwarf stars that have collected enough material.

they are caused by super giants not giants. most type A stars turn into
red giants then only go nova. like i said before, it takes a supermassive
star to go supernova.

>also called the Dog star. It played a role in the mythology of ancient
>Egypt because it first becomes a morning star about the time that the Nile
>river floods each year.
>Sirius has a neighboring white dwarf star that orbits every 50 years. In
>ancient text of 2000 years ago, Sirius was described as having a red color.
>But even as much as 1000 years ago, it was described as having a white
>color as it does today. No one yet has a satisfactory answer to this
>mystery.

no one has a satisfactory answer? i think one would go to a astronomy
book to find an answer. sirius is a star system containing several stars. at
one time the white dwarf was a red giant and since collapsed into a white
dwarf where it will go through its final stages of life. either way, a nova
wouldn't come around for quite some time. maybe another few hundred thousand
years.

>But even more interesting is the fact that there may be white dwarf stars
>nearby that have become cold and dark that may have gathered enough
>material to be on the edge of going supernova. I don't believe there is a
>method of detecting such stars today.

you mean neutron stars? they're already dead. no chance in becoming nova
or supernova. they are very small and are cold, dead places.