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Astronomers Discover New Class of Pulsating Star

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the shiny-new-toys dept.

KentuckyFC writes "It doesn't happen very often but astronomers have discovered a new class of pulsating white dwarf. The work began last year when the Sloan Digital Sky Survey found a few exotic white dwarf stars with carbon atmospheres. A mathematical model of these stars showed that in some circumstances the dwarfs could pulsate as the carbon was cycled through the atmosphere by convection. Now a few days observation of one of these stars has shown that it does actually pulsate as predicted."

8 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. What is love? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Baby don't hurt me.
    Don't hurt me.
    No more.

    Wait, that's Chris Kattan, a different kind of white dwarf star.

    1. Re:What is love? by Dr.+Cody · · Score: 5, Funny

      The inevitable and predictable jokes people make when the word "dwarf" comes up in some neutral context are sophomoric and insensitive.

      We shouldn't belittle people for how they were born.

    2. Re:What is love? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hey. Don't get short with me.

  2. Pulsating White Dwarf... by thousandinone · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thats what THE LADIES call me!

  3. Not again! by StreetStealth · · Score: 4, Funny

    I quit WoW to get away from pulsating white dwarfs!

    --
    Your mind is clear / The things that you fear / Will fade with how much you / Believe what you hear
  4. White dwarf pulsating power must be by Zabu · · Score: 4, Funny

    measured in GimliHertz?

    --
    It's all good.
  5. personal ad by arbitraryaardvark · · Score: 4, Funny

    Once upon a time, back at Alma Mater U, the campus newspaper ran an ad
    "Red giant seeks white dwarf for binary relationship." and gave astronomy professor Harry Shipman's phone number.
    Ever since then, ID has been required when placing personal ads.

  6. Re:"A fly in the ointment" by toddestan · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's a saying, that 3 out of every 2 stars are in a binary star system.