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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.'"

5 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Great... by mseidl · · Score: 5, Funny

    Something else I can't afford but my wife will nag me about...

  2. Garbage by __aaelyr464 · · Score: 5, Funny

    DeBeers has taught me that the only REAL diamond is from mined from the earth, possibly covered in blood.

  3. Re:Finally by AstroMatt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Except white dwarf interiors will also have lots of oxygen atoms, and the lattice structure (BCC) is different from that of diamonds (interpenetrating FCC). And if you remove the self gravity the white dwarf matter would no longer be crystallized. And this story dates from 2004 - breaking news! Definitely slashdot-worthy ...

  4. 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.

  5. 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.