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Comment by jarin | Hacker News Reader

My guess would be a nearby black hole.

There may be some merit to that guess; a few minutes on Google shows that all three of the panelists that are being made available to discuss this finding specialize in things like star formation and black holes (although their presence could also be spun as finding another "earthlike" extrasolar planet, if some are only there as panelists to discuss x-ray astronomy).

Jon Morse - http://science.nasa.gov/about-us/organization-and-leadership...

Kim Weaver - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Weaver

Alex Filippenko - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Filippenko

That would be bad news, not that there'd likely be any danger of being "sucked in." That would be bad news because black holes can release large amounts of energy very quickly. A nearby black hole would greatly increase the risk of an event wiping out the human species or our biosphere.

It wouldn't be so bad because there'd be nobody left to feel sorry about it.

Of all the ways for humanity to go out, that would be one of the cooler, not with a whimper but with bang! :)

think about how much tragic suffering occurs every day on this planet. think about how much lies behind and ahead of us. it's unfortunate every moment that humanity isn't wiped out.

Think about how much transcendent joy occurs every day on this planet. Think about how much beauty there is, how much to see, how much to experience. Every single moment is incredible, a (for lack of a better word) miracle defying the odds that we arose, gained intelligence, and lived long enough to think about it.

It's all a matter of perspective. (and no, I didn't downvote you)

this is a selfish appeal. think about how much profound suffering occurs every day on this planet. now consider that people who do not exist clearly cannot be bothered by not existing.

It's about the 'newest' black hole yet found. 30 years old, plus 50 million years for the light to get here.

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