You detect an intense release of energy from deep space. A supernova ? Black holes colliding ? Who knows. What we do know is that we, on Earth, received a RMS electric field signal of 15 mV/m over a period of 10 minutes and we see visual evidence some kind of explosion 200 light-years away ( use 2.01018m ). Estimate the total energy output of that explosion.
You detect an intense release of energy from deep space. A supernova ? Black holes colliding...
Before leaving Alpha Centauri, you change from the shuttle to a light speed interstellar cruiser and head out deep into the galaxy to visit another binary star system - but this one is composed of dead stars! To occupy your waking travel time by reading about this star system in the "Outer Space Tourbook": Stars spend most of their lifetimes undergoing nuclear fusion in their cores, which is why they give off so much light. However, when the material necessary...