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Two Totally Unique Star Systems Discovered

esocid writes "Astronomers have spied a faraway star system that is so unusual, it was one of a kind — until its discovery helped them pinpoint a second one that was much closer to home. In a paper published in a recent issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters, Ohio State University astronomers and their colleagues suggest that these star systems are the progenitors of a rare type of supernova. In research funded by the National Science Foundation, they found a star system that is unusual, because it's what the astronomers have called a 'yellow supergiant eclipsing binary' — it contains two very bright, massive yellow stars that are very closely orbiting each other. In fact, the stars are so close together that a large amount of stellar material is shared between them, so that the shape of the system resembles a peanut."

29 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Interstellar Directions by EdIII · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Dude, I can't find you."
    "What do you mean you can't find me? Did you follow my directions?"
    "I already flew by there five fucking times, I can't find you!"
    "Jeezus Christ! It's the one that looks like a peanut you pendejo! How many of them look like a peanut? How could you miss that!?"

  2. Scrotal by minginqunt · · Score: 5, Funny

    A peanut? SPACEBALLS, more like.

  3. Re:Unique or two by Moonpie+Madness · · Score: 2, Informative

    hahaha. I was looking forward to seeing someone get animated over that pun.

    But the fact is, it's actually semantically proper to modify the work "unique." The basic meaning "one of a kind" obviously can't be modified, but in today's world, Unique has other meanings, including "very unusual," which obviously can be modified.

    so it's possible to say "very unique," and, in fact, saying it is a great way to provoke nutty folk.

    Not to mention that "two unique" could also mean "two things that aren't similar to eachother".

  4. Two? by jgoemat · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you have two of something, by definition it is no longer unique...

    1. Re:Two? by eebra82 · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you have two of something, by definition it is no longer unique... It is in fact unique divided by half now.
    2. Re:Two? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      What? I've had hundreds of Uniques in Diablo!

    3. Re:Two? by Thanshin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've always wondered about the English expression "quite unique".

      It seems for English speakers, uniqueness is not binary.

      I suppose two instances of double rotating stars make them "somewhat unique in a certain way". Uniqueish, even.

    4. Re:Two? by minginqunt · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you have two of something, by definition it is no longer unique...

      Indeed. It becomes 'duique'.

    5. Re:Two? by Dutchmaan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So if I find, lets say, a neon blue apple and an apple with a cube shape.. Did I not find two unique apples?

      I suppose you could take that a few steps further saying that all apples are unique since none are 100% identical. So I suppose it's all about relativity of perception.

      Ironic how you can have multiple unique objects but if you use "unique" as a catergory they all become the same.

    6. Re:Two? by Minwee · · Score: 4, Informative

      It seems for English speakers, uniqueness is not binary.

      I'm puzzled by the thought that it should be.

      Let's see what my old friends George and Charles Merriam and Noah Webster have to say on the subject:

      "Many commentators have objected to the comparison or modification (as by somewhat or very) of unique, often asserting that a thing is either unique or it is not. Objections are based chiefly on the assumption that unique has but a single absolute sense, an assumption contradicted by information readily available in a dictionary. [...] In modern use both comparison and modification are widespread and standard [...]"
  5. Waitaminute... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's no peanut

  6. Aren't those configurations expected? by Thanshin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I mean, it's not so hard to imagine two stars circling one another. Don't they study how would that work without waiting to find an instance?

    Actually, I supposed astrophysicist first studied the effects of an unobserved configuration and from the results they described what data to expect from such a configuration. Actually finding it was the last step, in my supposition created world.

    The article, however, seems to describe the discovery as quite a surprise.

    1. Re:Aren't those configurations expected? by jd · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The stars are very very close and very very large. You'd need some very precise conditions to arise, or:

      • They'd merge
      • The gravitational fields would screw up the star formation
      • The gravitational waves in the oscillating system would necessarily damp it and cause the stars to collide
      • The original seeding material would have collapsed to the common center of gravity
      • The original seeding material would have flown apart
      • The gasses the stars formed from would not have been uniform enough for two equal-sized stars to form
      • The stellar nursary would have had another star close enough to disrupt/destroy the system
      • One or both would have exploded early on, from the massive, continuous surface disruption

      So, yes, they'll occur. Obviously, since they have. However, they are probably some of the rarest of stellar phenomena. Unique, no. Staggeringly rare, definitely.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  7. uh... by transiit · · Score: 2, Funny

    This year's April 1st jokes are just a bit too esoteric, I think. Celestial peanut? What?

    1. Re:uh... by ozbird · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is Slashdot; April Fool's Day submissions will probably starting appearing around 3 April.

  8. Are these the Type IIP supernovae? by Shag · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The article unfortunately doesn't say what rare type of supernovae these rare stars become. After a quick google I'm guessing they may be the type IIP ones, but I'm only familiar with type IA ones personally (and for relatively low values of "familiar" at that). We get our own not-quite-unique things over in type-IA land, too, like the super-Chandrasekhar-mass ones. SN2007if, discovered last year, was only the second one of those to be found.

    --
    Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
  9. Re:Unique or two by jimmux · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wait, there's more. Why do we say that a peanut has been shelled when the shell has been removed? Is it not now unshelled?

    Oops, Let me try that again.

    Why do we say that a pair of half-nuts have been shelled when the shell has been removed? Is the double-half-nut not now unshelled?

  10. Re:Totally! by allcar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Abuse of words like "unique" is commonplace in these days of grammar ignorance, but this article really does excel. The trouble is, I can't decide if it was deliberate irony on behalf of the author, or just plain ignorance.

  11. peanut shaped star system by OrangeTide · · Score: 3, Funny

    found a peanut, found a peanut,
    found a peeeeeanut just now,
    just now I found a peanut,
    Found a peanut just now.
    (feel free to share the rest of the lyrics with the class)

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  12. one thing leads to another by doti · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now, imagine the size of the squirrel!

    --
    factor 966971: 966971
  13. The DARE.... by Notquitecajun · · Score: 2, Funny

    I DARE someone to fly in between them. I DOUBLE-DOG dare ya.

    1. Re:The DARE.... by maroberts · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can do this in less than 12 parsecs....

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

  14. Re:OMG PONIES by siride · · Score: 2, Funny

    That would be the ultimate April Fool's joke: good stories, grammatically correct summaries, no dupes, etc. And at the end they'd say "April Fools! Just kidding!"

  15. I'm disappointed by morethanapapercert · · Score: 3, Informative

    Despite the obvious importance of his work to a celestial arrangement of this kind, the article doesn't refer to Edourad Roche or the Roche Lobethat forms in the region between these two stars. When Roche Lobes overlap, it is a Contact Binary

    --
    I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
  16. "Unique" has evolved beyond your notions by FreeUser · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can decide any word means anything but the purpose of language is to communicate ideas clearly, and the only reasons for muddying a definition seem to be ignorance, attention-seeking, or malice

    Or evolution in the language, in which unique has come to mean "very unusual".

    1. existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics: a unique copy of an ancient manuscript.
    2. having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable: Bach was unique in his handling of counterpoint.
    3. limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, or area: a species unique to Australia.
    4. limited to a single outcome or result; without alternative possibilities: Certain types of problems have unique solutions.
    5. not typical; unusual: She has a very unique smile.

    Now granted, it's the 5th definition of 5, but nevertheless, it is a legitimate definition of the word that exceeds the parameters you have laid down, and does allow for (a) a multiplicity of "unique" ("very unusual") items, as well as modifiers such as "very unique", etc.

    The language has evolved beyond your notion of what it should be. Get over it.

    --
    The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
  17. Re:Totally! by david.given · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now, if the grammar NAZIs would pull their heads from their asses...

    You do realise that Nazi is a proper noun, not an acronym, and therefore should not be capitalised?

    HTH. HAND.

  18. Re:Unique or two by AGMW · · Score: 2, Insightful
    And of course you can have two unique things if they are different, but the title is referring to two things which are the same.

    Of course, if you are hacking on about scientific meanings of words then perhaps you meant to say similar.

    --
    Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
    handmadehands.co.uk
  19. Re:Totally! by Minwee · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Abuse of words like "unique" is commonplace in these days of grammar ignorance, but this article really does excel. The trouble is, I can't decide if it was deliberate irony on behalf of the author, or just plain ignorance.

    Is that the same kind of ignorance that comes from not knowing what a word means, or were you trying to win some kind of award for creative use of the term irony?

  20. Obligatory Asimov Quote by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It would normally be bad science to say "we found one, so we infer there are many" ... however, over the last bunch of years in Astronomy has consistently re-affirmed exactly that.

    The problem is, it was considered completely "unique" until they found a second one.

    "The number 'two' is impossible." Isaac Asimov in The Gods Themselves. The point being that in cosmology there may be zero of something or one of something, but once you know there is more than one of something, you should assume that the number is infinite.

    --
    Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.