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Quadrantids Source Discovered

Posted by timothy on from the special-effects-department dept.

linuxwrangler writes "Man has observed the annual Quadrantid meteor shower since antiquity but its source has remained unknown. Astronomer Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute predicted that the source would turn out to be the burnt-out core of an ancient star. Now, just in time for this year's display, the source has been discovered right where Jenniskens predicted."

1 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Article is really bad by kalidasa · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No. When a star explodes, its core is made up of heavy metals (e.g., iron). The remnant is usually a dwarf star or neutron star (or collapsar, i.e., black hole); it would not be a comet. I think the problem is that someone was talking to him about the idea of an exploding comet, and mentioned something like "back then it would have been a first magnitude star, but now it's merely a 23rd magnitude star" and the fellow took it too literally.