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Astronomers Discover New Class of Pulsating Star

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."

2 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What is love? by sentientbeing · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    These arent dwarfs. They just look small because theyre very very very far away.

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  2. Re:What is love? by Dachannien · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Wait, that's Chris Kattan, a different kind of white dwarf star. I think the word "pulsating" applies here as well.