British scientists locate dead stars.Summary: Two objects roughly the same size as the Earth and with oxygen-rich atmospheres have been discovered by British astronomers Famous astronomers and astrophysicists include: Directory: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
Two objects roughly the same size as the Earth and with oxygen-rich atmospheres have been discovered by British astronomers. However, the unusual "white dwarfs" are unlikely to be home to aliens, or to support human life in the future. Located 400 and 225 light years away, they are the remnants of stars, not planets. They are all that is left of massive stars that have consumed their nuclear fuel. Theory suggests that large stars with seven to 10 times the mass of the Sun end their lives either as white dwarfs, or by exploding and collapsing into super-dense neutron neutron, uncharged elementary particle of slightly greater mass than the proton. It was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932. The stable isotopes of all elements except hydrogen and helium contain a number of neutrons equal to or greater than the number of protons. stars. Scientists predict that white dwarfs should have oxygen-rich cores. However, these are normally hidden from view by layers of hydrogen and helium helium (hē`lēəm), gaseous chemical element; symbol He; at. no. 2; at. wt. 4.0026; m.p. below −272°C; at 26 atmospheres pressure; b.p. −268.934°C; at 1 atmosphere pressure; density 0. . British astronomers scouring scouring characterized by scour. scouring disease a colloquial name for secondary nutritional copper deficiency. data from a major star-mapping study have now identified two white dwarfs with large amounts of oxygen in their atmospheres. Dr Boris Gansicke, who led the Sloan Digital Sky Survey team from the universities of Warwick and Kiel, said: "These surface abundances of oxygen imply that these are white dwarfs displaying their bare oxygen-neon cores." Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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