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Brent and I have been discussing expanding the scope of the post content on this site. Trabian’s interests, after all, are legion and sometimes we want to share interesting things with you that may not have an immediate relationship with advertising, design, marketing, CUs, the web. Jack Marie Trabian is not a dull boy (How could he be with a middle name like Marie?).

That said (And this does have something to to with technology, so it’s not a total departure.) I scored a free copy of this month’s National Geographic on the plane-ride back to Texas. Someone left it in the seat pouch and I took it and was making my way through it over a cup of coffee this morning when I found an interesting article about Supernovas (exploding stars).

I’ll note here that earlier in the article it was stated that they figured out that stars burst out more gamma rays minutes before getting all Supernova up in it.

::holds envelope up to forehead in Carnacian fashion:: Gamma-rays, Satellites, Supernovas and text messages.

Answer:

“For astronomers, there’s usually no rush to study something before it vanishes. ‘The Universe usually evolves as slowly as watching paint dry,’ says one. But these days, hundreds of astronomers keep cell phones and beepers close by so they can rush to work like doctors on call. They’re waiting for word from a spacecraft called Swift.

Swift, launched in 2004, scans the skies for gamma rays. When it detects a burst, it swivels its telescopes toward the source to get a good fix and detect the afterglow—the lingering point of light that marks the spot where a burst originated. It also sends an alert to earthbound astronomers, who can take a closer look with bigger telescopes.

Early on February 18, 2006, Swift reported an outpouring of gamma rays from somewhere toward the constellation Aries. Within three minutes, the satellite determined the position of the burst and broadcast an alert. Two days later, astronomers at a telescope in Arizona reported that the burst came from a small, nearby galaxy, only a fraction as far away as usual.

Astronomers had already traced a connection between bursts and supernovas. But this burst was so close, and Swift had spotted it so quickly, that scientists hoped it would help confirm what they suspected: A gamma-ray burst is an exploding star’s opening act.”

We live in the future. Spaceships send us text messages (OMG a star is about to go off near Pluto’s Dippin’ Dots kiosk! LOLZ!!!) minutes before stars explode. If those scientists knew what was good for them, they’d register Suprnovr.com this minute and go the extra step to make it IM you as well. And allowing you to customize your suprnovr.com/chaztoo page sure would appeal to today’s surfer.

The excerpt was written by Ron Cowen of National Geographic in the March, 2007 issue. Go buy it to see how it ends!