Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
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Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#2Url changed from http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/star-within-a-star..., because the colorado.edu post looks like the announcement closest to the original source.
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#3Here's an earlier HN thread on the possibility of these objects. It contains some good explanatory links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7020517
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#4Url changed from http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/star-within-a-star... , because the colorado.edu post looks like the announcement closest to the original source.
Thanks!
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#5This is one of the things I most love about the process of science: things predicted by a theory are posited to exist, and subsequently discovered, matching the prediction to such amazing degrees. T-Ż Objects, gravitational lenses, the Higgs boson, &c, are all examples of how well we understand our universe.
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#6This is one of the things I most love about the process of science: things predicted by a theory are posited to exist, and subsequently discovered, matching the prediction to such amazing degrees. T-Ż Objects, gravitational lenses, the Higgs boson, &c , are all examples of how well we understand our universe.
I came here to say exactly that. I'm glad you put it do well.
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#7I think more than anything, research like this proves that if a particular type of Object, no matter how bizarre-sounding, is not ruled out by theory, then it will be eventually found in the Universe somewhere.
The Interstellar drives cannot get here fast enough! What else is out there?
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#8Gee, where's a graph of temperature and density as a function of radius? GOT to be a super wild graph!
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#9Amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Re: Astronomers discover first Thorne-Żytkow object, a bizarre type of hybrid star
#10Here's an earlier HN thread on the possibility of these objects. It contains some good explanatory links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7020517
Here's an explanation of how these objects can remain stable I had posted previously, for folks that don't want to go through the whole other thread:
Because the density of the neutron star and the Red Giant are so different (average Red Giant density is about the same density as water), the neutron star can keep a distinct structure/orbit for 1000 years or so. When it gets to the core, fusion occurs in a halo around the neutron star instead of through the normal sort of fusion you'd get in a Red Giant core. This leads to a different ratio of nuclear isotopes, which is how you can determine these objects aren't typical Red Giants.
The resulting objects survive around 70 million years before the neutron star core absorbs enough mass to turn into a black hole. However, the predicted rate of birth/death of these objects indicates there may be a few of these in the galaxy at any given time.