My 13 year old daughter is worried that the Earth might go Super Nova. How do I calm her concerns?

Answer 1

give her money

Answer 2

Well, in a nutshell you can reassure her that that is not possible since the Earth is a planet, and only stars go super nova, i.e. the Sun, which she really need not worry about either since this process takes millions of years, and unless she's taking some very good vitamins, she won't possibly live that long. In fact, there is speculation that there may not be any life on Earth at the time this happens, you may want to leave that part out though.

Answer 3

You've made it clear that sex is off the table, and that's really as far as you can go. If you start to make this into a huge big deal, it will become an ever bigger deal and very possibly explode in your face. Chances are that when he is relocated (he's in the army) he won't be calling as much, and she will very likely get bored with the situation, and move on. My advice is to say nothing and keep yourself informed of the situation. Neither encourage nor discourage it, it will probably fizzle out in time, especially if they don't see that much of each other. Absence doesn't so much make the heart grow fonder as it makes the mind bored and the eyes wander ....

Answer 4

Simple.

Tell her that the Earth can't go Super Nova, but the Sun sure can.

To protect from being fried when that happens you should paper the entire ceiling of your bedroom with tin foil to reflect the cosmic rays back into space. Line everyone's baseball caps with tinfoil for the same reason. Never walk around unprotected.

Expect the event to occur in about 4 Billion Years.

Answer 5

the earth is a ball of rock, the heat in its core is powered by nuclear decay which keeps the core warm, but there is absolutely no way that a planet like this can go supernova.

the sun is a star. it is more likely to go supernova than the earth is, but the sun is too small. it will eventually (about 5 billion years from now) puff off its outer layers which will then form a lovely planetary nebula (which we wouldn't be able to see if we're still on earth) and what remains of the sun will collapse into a small white dwarf about the same size as earth, although much much heavier.

huge stars like betelgeuse, rigel, deneb, polaris, antares, they can go supernova. but they are also very far away. if one of them does go boom we will see it in the sky, but it shouldn't hurt us any..

if this doesn't convince her, then tell her that she should do some research to find out why the earth will not go supernova. make it into a learning experience.

Answer 6

When I was a small kid in the 1950s I learned about atomic bombs and that they work by splitting atoms. I remember dinner times when I'd wonder if the neighborhood would blow up if I accidentally spit an atom with my table knife.

I wonder if your 13 year old is really worried about global warming. Climate change is the fashionable catastrophe these days. Super novas were the nineties.

Answer 7

Tell her that only stars can go supernova and earth is a planet. And the sun, despite being a star, can never ever go super nova. The sun is simply too tiny.

Answer 8

Let her know that planets can't go supernova, only really big stars can do that. Even our sun isn't big enough to explode.
Planets can't explode, or anything like that. They are just big balls of rock and are very stable. Earth has been around for over 4 billion years, and will last another 4 or 5 billion years. That's a very long time.

Answer 9

The earth will not super nova, the sun will. And when it does earth will already have been destroyed, because before the sun explodes it will grow large enough to envelope the earth. Scientists predict this won't happen any time soon. So your daughter will already be dead of natural causes, hopefully at a ripe old age. Besides at the rate the human race is going, we will probably make conditions on earth unlivable for us long before the sun explodes. Have a nice day!

Answer 10

The Yellowstone Caldera according to some scientists Data* and theologians (Bible Codes) might blow in or around September of 2009 or our lifetime*.
Philosophy might be something to look into.
Some people worry about things and ignore the obvious. I knew a professor that absent mindedly rode his bike into a bus and was killed. This could happen walking across the street.
This might be a clue into her character or of other health problems such as anxiety and or trauma. I would consider therapy or a check-up if this is a real problem.Maybe there's something else that's really bothering her instead such as your mortality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera
http://www.exodus2006.com/fab/Yellowstone.htm
http://www.victorzammit.com/

Answer 11

for a planet or any celestial body to 'go' super nova, a long list of things has to happen. since this list is long (as well as years of it/them to occur), i won't go into that right now but rest assured that in nature & i mean all things of nature, nothing just happens. a chain of events must first must be put into motion beginning with a small first astro-step and this, on earth, hasn't happened. i can't lie & say it won't happen some day but i do believe the sun will go dim before earth super nova's & that is not likely to happen for another 4-8 million/billion years. if you're planning to be around then, i'd worry but if not - don't. by the way, until another planet is found to be earth-like and until the brains in science find a way to relocate the flora & fauna of earth, those brains will certainly find a way to save their butts (and ours). by the way, tom cruise & his ilk won't allow earth to blow. who else would pay to see his movies? now i ask you...