Deep
down in the Pattern of Centarus lies a star about 50 light years far from the
Earth. This star is so distinctive that astrophysicists nicknamed it “Lucy.”
Lucy, also identified as V886Centauri and BPM
37093, is just a white dwarf star. As many of you might know, a white dwarf
is the hot residue left behind when a star consumes all of its nuclear fuel and
expires. It is made generally of carbon and oxygen and encircled by a thin
layer of hydrogen and helium gases.
In 1992 it was learned that Lucy pulsates as an outcome
of its core temperature reducing below 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,600
Celsius). And in 1995 researchers decided to use Lucy for a testing. They
needed to see what she was made of. The experiment was to custom the pulsation
of the star to understand if the crystallization concept was accurate. The
procedure that was used is termed as “Asteroseismology” or “Stellar
Seismology,” which usages the star’s frequency spectra to conclude what the
structure of the star is. Basically, it is the similar way that geologists
study the interior of the Earth through earthquakes.
Lucy is also the bigger diamond ever found. Researchers
had found that about 90% of Lucy’s mass must crystallized, and since Lucy’s
inner core is mostly made of Carbon, it can only mean one thing. At 10 billion
trillion trillion carats, not merely is this diamond ever…it squeezes the last
diamond to grip the record. It is speculated that our Sun will one day go over
the same stage. After it explodes its external shell and turn into a white
dwarf, it also will crystallize and live out its end of days in remarkable
form, celebrating its own Diamond Jubilee.
