GALAXY UGC3478 – No Thais were reported injured or killed in the latest stellar explosion in the far reaches of deep space, according to authorities.
The explosion, which was reported last week by NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was classified as a Type 1 Supernova and is believed to have been caused by the collapse of a massive star into a new black hole, releasing gravitational potential energy that pushed the star’s remnant outer core into space where it was observable as a halo of luminous radiation.
The Supernova, designated SN2011AF, is observable in the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere using commercially available telescope equipment.
“No Thai nationals were in the immediate vicinity of SN2011AF, either at the time of its first observation, or, as far as we know, during the initial collapse of its creator neutron star 140,000,000 years ago,” said Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. “However, we are continuing to monitor the situation.”
The Ministry also updated the press on possible risks to Thailand from various interstellar events, including the pulsar wind nebula from SN1054, and the remnants of SN1979C, a still-unclassified supernova in Galaxy M100, about 500 million light years from Earth.
“Our foreign registry shows that there are zero Thai guest workers in Galaxy M100,” said Kasit. “However, that does not eliminate the possibility of undocumented workers, who may be enduring hardship there from intense gravitational forces and searing temperatures of 10,000 degrees Kelvin.”
Kasit did not provide details on possible intergalactic evacuation plans, but insisted that the government was prepared to do whatever was needed to protect Thais everywhere in the known universe, and report on Thailand’s significance in universal cosmic events.
