Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Astronomers Find Diamond Star 4,000 km Wide

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the sharon-osborne-summoned dept.

tclas writes "The cosmic diamond is a chunk of crystallized carbon, 4,000 km across, some 50 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus. It's the compressed heart of an old star that was once bright like our Sun but has since faded and shrunk. Astronomers have decided to call the star 'Lucy,' after the Beatles song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.'"

8 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. 4km or 4,000km wide? by maroberts · · Score: 3, Informative

    If its only 4km I'll let you have it.....

    P.S. This BBC story is from 2004 - slow news day, Slashdot?

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

    1. Re:4km or 4,000km wide? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      P.S. This BBC story is from 2004 - slow news day, Slashdot?

      And slashdot covered it then too:
      http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/14/0123206

      Kind of pathetic how often an ancient news story will work its way to the front page.

  2. Slow day, Slashdot? by AndyFewt · · Score: 4, Informative

    BBC news article: Last Updated: Monday, 16 February 2004, 15:31 GMT
    Over 6 years old, slow day slashdot?

    1. Re:Slow day, Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I know this was on reddit and it was a little while before anyone pointed out the age of the article. So, they did their part to bump the story up.

    2. Re:Slow day, Slashdot? by cravey · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://science.slashdot.org/story/04/02/14/0123206/The-Galaxys-Largest-Diamond

  3. 6 year old Dupe by SMoynihan · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a story from 2004, though it keeps popping up in the "most read" list on BBC news. Also, it was reported on Slashdot 6 years ago.

  4. CmdrTaco, considered living in a GROUP HOME? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Gone senile? Got amnesia, you old douche?
     
    THIS ARTICLE is SIX YEARS OLD.

  5. completely different by phlegmofdiscontent · · Score: 3, Informative

    Besides being old, the article is inaccurate. What we consider a diamond consists of a lattice of carbon atoms linked by covalent bonds. This, quite simply, would not support itself against its own gravity. White dwarfs are made up of electron degenerate matter, supported by the Pauli exclusion principle. Electrons can only withstand being compressed to a certain point under this principle and that pressure offsets the inward pressure due to gravity. Covalent bonds as in a diamond would break down long before that. Yes, the star may be 100% carbon, but that doesn't make it a diamond. It's akin to saying graphite is the same as diamond since they're both 100% carbon. A carbon white dwarf is a completely different state of matter than a diamond.