Core Dump
Scientists studying a group of stars made an astonishing but "serendipitous" discovery when they realized that Gamma Columbae, a fairly average celestial body, might actually be the "stripped pulsating core of a massive star," according to a study published this week in Nature Astronomy.
If true, that means Gamma Columbae is missing the envelope, or vast shroud of gas, that hides a star's nuclear fusion powered core.
What caused the stripping of this atmospheric envelope is not definitively known, but the scientists posit that Gamma Columbae running out of hydrogen could've caused its envelope to expand and swallow up a nearby star, likely its binary partner. But in the middle of that relatively common process, something appears to have horrifically gone wrong and ejected the envelope — and possibly even led to the two stars merging.
Naked Core
Before the disaster, the scientists believe Gamma Columbae could have been up to 12 times the mass of our Sun. Now, it's a comparatively meager 5 stellar masses.
Although a naked stellar core missing its envelope has been theorized to exist, it's never been observed in a star this size.
"Having a naked stellar core of such a mass is unique so far," said study co-author Norbert Pryzbilla, head of the Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck, in an interview with Vice.
Astronomers had an idea of what the cores of massive and low mass stars looked like, Pryzbilla continued, but there wasn't "much evidence" for cores of masses in between.
Star Power
It's an exceedingly rare find because the star is in a "a short-lived post-stripping structural re-adjustment phase" that will only last 10,000 years, according to the study.
That's "long for us humans but in astronomical timescales, very, very short," Przybilla told Vice. "It will always stay as a peculiar object."
The opportunity to study such a rarely exposed stellar core could provide scientists an invaluable look into the evolution of binary star systems. And whatever astronomers learn from the star, it's a fascinating glimpse at stellar destruction at a nearly incomprehensible scale.
More on stars: Black Hole Spotted Burping Up Material Years After Eating a Star
The post Scientists Spot "Stripped, Pulsating Core" of Star Caused By Horrific Accident appeared first on Futurism.
Continued here:
Scientists Spot "Stripped, Pulsating Core" of Star Caused By Horrific Accident
- Google removes malware Android apps used to secretly mine bitcoin - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin exchange MtGox liquidated - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Wannabe Litecoin Emerges as Low-Price Challenger - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- The Worlds First Bitcoin Debit Card Is Almost Here - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- How does Bitcoin work? - Bitcoin - Open source P2P money - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- The Bitcoin Group #27 - China Bans Bitcoin Again - Politics - Dark Market - Bitcoin VC - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Edan Yago - Free Market Bitcoin regulation and Honduras free trade zones.mp4 - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin vs. Political Power: The Cryptocurrency Revolution - Stefan Molyneux at TNW Conference - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Video: Roundup of This Week's Bitcoin News 25th April 2014 - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Fredagsbar med Torben Mark Pedersen - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin and the Internet of Money - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin for Dummies - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Bitcoin runner-up Litecoin emerges as low-price challenger - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Bitcoin or Gold? Squawk Walk Taipei- Squawkonomics - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Miner AntMiner S1 180 - 200 GH/s Nu in de Aanbieding! - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- New Bitcoin Documentary: Boom or Bust - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Bitcoin May v0.9.1 GitHub Source Code Development Visualization - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Atomic-Trade Bitcoin Exchange. AML, BSA, FinCEN compliant - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- China Bans Bitcoin Again -- Bitcoin the Movie -- Startup for Startups Raises 2,000 BTC - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- 4/24/14 - Xapo Debit Card, Russia's 1st Bitcoin Conference, Silk Road 2.0 - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- What is Bitcoin? - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- David Andolfatto, How Does Bitcoin Work? - Video - April 27th, 2014 [April 27th, 2014]
- Australian Bitcoin traders hit by crash - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Bitcoin traders hit by Mt.Gox crash - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Market Extra: Bitcoin venture capital money hasnt kept up with buzz - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Bitcoin price slips as China steps up regulation - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Bitcoin price slips on China regulation - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Win .33 Bitcoin ($150 or so, Depending on BTC value) - Meme game for May 1st - Take My Bitcoins - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Ron Paul on Bitcoin - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- btc.sx Bitcoin derivatives platform George Samman clip - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- 'The Rise And Rise Of Bitcoin' Filmmaker: 'There Is No Answer Yet' - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Bitcoin the movie: It just had to happen - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Vies with New Cryptocurrencies as Coin of the Cyber Realm - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- The Bitcoin Meetup - BitcoinMKE Hosts Jeffrey Tucker - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- MIT Bitcoin Expo 2014 - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Expo 2014: Fireside Chat with Dr Gavin Wood - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Rise Bitcoin Singapore - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Preview: Bitcoin Authenticator - 2FA for wallets - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- The Bitcoin Group #27 (Live) - China Bans Bitcoin Again - Politics - Dark Market - Bitcoin VC - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- 4/25/14 - More China uncertainty, Missourian bitcoin warning, BadLepricon malware - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Money & Tech at The Rise And Rise Of Bitcoin Afterparty - Video - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- New Bitcoin student club at MIT will promote the virtual currency - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- 4/29/14 - MIT Bitcoin Project, Mt Gox revival plan, Mastercard lobbyists & Team Rubicon - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- BitCoin Dentist GoCoin Fox News Interview - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Foundation Election Hiccups -- Pathetic Ohio Bans Bitcoins -- Dogecon SF 2014 - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Slips to $420 as BTC China Halts Transactions - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- MultiSig Plus BitCoin Multi Coin Wallet looks like HUGE INVESTMENT potential! - Video - April 30th, 2014 [April 30th, 2014]
- Bitcoin: what happens when the miners pack up their gear? - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Dark Wallet Is About to Make Bitcoin Money Laundering Easier Than Ever - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Bitcoin Talk Show #7 -- Skype BitcoinTalkShow to Call in Live! 🙂 - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Basic Bitcoin Bitches - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Gold standard vs Fiat vs Bitcoin - Truthloader - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- How to Defund the System: Bitcoin vs. the Central Banksters - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Bitcoin, Anarchy and Freedom with Roger Ver - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- MIT Goes Bitcoin-Wild - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Bitcoin Weekly 2014 April 30: Bloomberg adds Bitcoin to their market index, MIT to produce campus-wide bitcoin ... - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- 'Dark Wallet' wants to make Bitcoin even harder to trace - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Bitcoin made simple (video animation) - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Jon Matonis: Bitcoin - The future of commerce? - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- $100 in Bitcoin Going to Every MIT Undergrad - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- The Rise of Digital Currency - Video - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Money Goes Virtual: The Bitcoin Bourse - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Bitcoin Lights with LIFX - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Bitcoin: How We Got Here and Where We Are Going - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- 5/1/14 - Larry Summers warns critics, Paym system & Bitcoin Center NYC roundtable - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- On est Connect S2 #07 1/2 : BitCoin et Musique sur Internet - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- MIT Undergrads To Receive $100 Worth Of Bitcoin This Fall - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Why it only took ME less than 2 minutes to believe in Bitcoin - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Bitcoin Basics and Regulation Thoughts from NH Liberty Forum - Bruce Fenton - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- PRIMER CAJERO DE BITCOIN EN BIT CENTER DE TIJUANA - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Yelp adds Bitcoin acceptance to business listings - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Bitcoin A Terrorist Threat? Counterterrorism Program Names Virtual Currencies As Area Of Interest - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- How Does Bitcoin Works - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- 10 Things You Didn't Know About BitCoin - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- BITCOIN The Future of Money - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Bitcoin Miner Review - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- The Bitcoin Group #28 (Live) - Yelp Lists Bitcoin - MIT Bitcoin $100 - Dark Wallet - Ohio Bans BTC - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Bitcoin: Gary North is Mentally Deranged And Bitcoin Will Change Everything - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Who is the Bitcoin Warlord? - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]