Pulsations in Crystalized, Dying Star

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Texas Astronomers Discover Pulsations in Crystalized, Dying Star

AUSTIN — Astronomers from The University of Texas at Austin and colleagues have used the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope at the university’s McDonald Observatory to discover pulsations from the crystalized remnant of a burnt-out star. The finding will allow astronomers to see below the star’s atmosphere and into its interior, much like earthquakes allow geologists to study compositions below Earth’s surface. The findings appear in the current issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The Texas astronomers made their discovery in collaboration with astronomers from Brazil’s Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, the University of Oklahoma, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

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