Star caught devouring companion

[schadeaux]

(SPACE.com) -- Scientists have obtained a rare glimpse of the chaotic environment just miles from the surface of an explosive corpse of a star that is slowly consuming its companion.

An eruption from the neutron star illuminated material flowing onto it, providing lucky astronomers with an unprecedented peek at the activity near the surface of the ultra-dense object. The eruption poured out more energy in three hours than the Sun does in a century.

An artist rendering shows the neutron star

at left embedded in a disk of material it is

sucking from the normal star at right.

Artist rendering shows the neutron star, which

is ultra-dense at the beginning of the explosion.

At the height of the explosion, the rendering

shows the inner part of the disk-like collection

of gases being pushed outward.

Another rendering shows how the explosion

engulfed the neighboring star, devouring it as it

began orbiting the neutron.

Full article at CNN

[stillcrazy]

That is a trip. But I will admit I thought it was something different.

[geeohn]

Those are beautiful star but yet they are destructive. Nice to know they actually caught it on film.

Edited February 29, 2004 by geeohn

[Gazz]

I am stunned everytime I see images

like these.

But what is really impressive is that

these are works of art, based on the

known data and facts.

What I REALLY would like to know is

just who are these artists?

how do they create these awesome images?

why is it we never see credit given to

these artists?

I think who ever they are the should be

given credit for these images.

Gazz