One of the points of this article that is interesting to me is, I simply did not know that stars leave their home galaxy. And the star discussed here is leaving the Milky Way Galaxy preeeeeety fast, at 26 million miles per hour. Of course, as usual, no one really knows the whys of why such stars do what they do, but they do make some guesses at it! :)
Space.com
by Calla Cofield, Space.com Staff Writer | March 05, 2015 02:01pm ET
The fastest-known star in the Milky Way is on a path out of the galaxy, and new research suggests it was a supernova that gave it the boot.
The runaway star, US 708, is traveling at 7,456 miles per second (12,000 km/s) — that's 26 million miles per hour (43 million km/h) —making it the fastest star in the Milky Way ever clocked by astronomers, according to the new research. Its speed will allow it to escape the gravitational pull of the galaxy, and eventually make its way into intergalactic space. A NASA animation shows the hypervelocity star's ejection after a star explosion, kicking off the rogue flight across the Milky Way.
Most other stars moving fast enough to get out of the galaxy are thought to be ejected by the monster black hole at the galactic center, the researchers say. US 708 is the first star with a different origin story, and the new research suggests its life has been strange and chaotic.
More: http://www.space.com/28737-fastest-star-galaxy-strange-origin.html
An astrophysicist-artist's conception of a hypervelocity star speeding away from the visible part of a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. Hypervelocity star 708 is now the fastest-recorded star on its way out of the galaxy, and its origin story is highly unique.
Credit: Ben Bromley, University of Utah
(http://s14.postimg.org/hnyqdyt81/Screen_Shot_2015_03_06_at_12_41_35_AM.jpg)
There's something terrifying about an object that large moving that fast. If something like that came through our solar system, it would most likely be the end of any chance of life on this planet. The sheer radiation alone would bathe this planet in energy millions of times greater than a nuclear bomb. That's not to mention the temporary increase in heat, which would fry anything that the radiation didn't get first.
And all of that, of course, is not even to mention what it would be like if that thing decided to hit Earth on its way through. There wouldn't even be two atoms left to rub together.
I don't think we'd be too worried about radiation and heat if it were akin to our star(sol) size and type. (subject to it's actual path and closeness to us) What we'd have to REALLY worry about is it's gravity and effect on planet orbits being destabilized, and much more importantly it's gravity pulling a million/billion asteroids from the Oort cloud, kuiper belt onto us in a massive astroid storm. That might not be survivable.
I was kind of thinking along the lines of it passing between our star and Earth. If that happened, the radiation would be intense enough to cook our atmosphere. I hadn't even thought of the gravity, but that alone would wreak havoc. I think the consensus is that we'd be screwed :P
YES, I share your thoughts and concerns. And actually, where ever this star actually in in this process, it must have already encountered these mentioned situations within this galaxy, and along its exiting path, however how many light years long. Actually, as fast as 26 million mph sounds, it is only about 4% of light speed (if my numbers are right), so it will take this star about 25 years to travel one light year distance anyway.
To further relate though, just how fast this star is traveling - at 7,456 miles per second, that equates to about "39 million" feet per second. Of course that is somewhat faster than some of our most speedy bullets @ 4,000 fps. :D
It really is pretty unimaginable the spacial planetary and galactical havoc that something star-sized traveling this fast could wreak along its path. And at this speed, likely NOTHING stops it, because of its dynamic "energy" at this speed.
How fast are YOU travelling sitting in your chair at the computer?
So our "armchair Astronaut" is now moving through 6 different directions and a combined speed of approximately 574,585 MPH
69,361 MPH Spin and Orbit
43,200 MPH Towards Lambda Herculis
15,624 MPH Perpendicular to Galactic Plane
446,400 MPH Orbiting the Galactic Center {or Galactic Spin Rate}
-------------------
574,585 MPH Speed of Earth within Our Galaxy
So for every hour you are away from the solar system, your planet is moving half a million miles, and in several directions...
Now if you want to leave the galaxy add another 1,339,200 MPH to the calculations.
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/02files/Speed_of_Earth.html
The above calculations are only approximate when taken beyound the solar system because we have no stationary point of reference.
When calculating spacecraft destibations within the solar system we have the sun as reference as all things IN the solar system move with the sun
If you wanted to travel to another star even the closest one you need to take into account the VECTOE movement of the celestial bodies
If you were to come to a STOP, the Earth would wizz away in a blink and you would be Lost in Space literally
We tend to think that our planets orbit the sun in a neat predictable fashion nice roundish orbits. But we forget that the solar system is moving in orbit around the galaxy, It is also bobbing up and down perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy (250 LY up and down) and moving sideways towards Lambda Herculis. And then the Galaxy itself is zipping along at over a million miles per hour
So what would our solar system's orbits look like if we stopped just outside? Well more like the video below.
Now its not quite accurate because it only accounts for one motion, the rotation of the galaxy. The total vector path would be much more complicated but you get the idea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHsq36_NTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHsq36_NTU
Version 2.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvgaxQGPg7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvgaxQGPg7I