Space Fan News #31: The Star That Shouldn't Exist; Diamonds in the Sky

[godbluffvdgg]

Great video though and very interesting. Thanks for sharing your erudite information.

[godbluffvdgg]

I always have found it amusing how we humans always want to make sense of untenable information. The galaxy may not even exist, it may just be an amalgam of our collective imagination. I remember when I was a child in the 60s hearing how the universe was 5 billion years old. Now, I have only live 50 years but the universe has aged 10 billion. Why not just get it over and say the Universe is like 60 dectillion years old. Prove it's not. Or maybe one earth year equals 500 million space years.

[whisperinwindcried67]

astronomy blows my mind..how can they know stuff like we believe the pulsar is spinning 10,000 times per second,and this planet is gazillions of miles/light years away but were pretty sure its made of diamond..how the f are they really gonna know any of this--i know,i know mathmatics/physics...makes my head spin..amazing!

[MrPlatonist]

waaa! O.O Solar Jetman (NES) had chrystal planets. now it suddenly feels like it makes sense XD

[ColonyWarrior]

Thats no ordinary star... its a space station.

[klj2503]

LOL you messed up the name at 0:13 you said SDSS J102915+272927 but you got i right later on.

I got to say I love your videos :-D keep up the good work

[test123ok]

why does a pulsar speed up when it is fed with more mass ? shouldn't the extra inertia slow it down or is angular momentum somehow involved?

how much of the mass gets siphoned out ? does its diameter increase or does it get more dense?

[yatter1]

Naming conventions need to change

[PTNLemay]

Surprised there isn't a "Shiny on you crazy diamond" up in the top comments.

[jamebozo]

You explain it so simple, I'm not a astronomer, but I can totally understand what you're talking about~!!!! You rock !

[bicnarok]

Maybe it isn´t the stars characteristics which are odd, but our limited knowledge and possible wrong theories on how things came about.

[sciencoking]

@bicnarok a star with such a low metallicity is rare nevertheless. No wonder we don't know much about it...

[QQScorpion]

your videos just get better and better :)

[RyuDarragh]

I'm surprised they find this strange. Also as strange is the stratification of elements in planets... they should be perfectly uniform, elementally speaking. The fact a supernova blew a cloud of helium and hydrogen that became stratified in the same way and then condensed into a star is no surprise to me. I bet the same phenomenon is at work on star building scales instead of planet building.

[DougieBarclay]

so 10,000Hz, with a diameter of what? x10KHz? = how many mph?? hmmm, that's preeeetty fast.

[sciencoking]

@DougieBarclay Neutron starts have an average diameter of 10-15 kilometers, that would be 6 (average radius)*Pi kilometers * 10.000 per second, which is roughly 20.000km/s or 6,6% the speed of light :)

[markmartin6sc]

Has anyone seen the new pictures of Saturn? NASA’s Cassini orbiter snaps unbelievable picture of Saturn.

[sidoney101]

Somebody will probably correct me but I thought the metallicity of a star depended on what generation star it was rather than its age. Like our sun has a relatively high metallicity because it is third generation (it formed from a molecular cloud that already had a high metallic content).

[davetoepfer]

While I understand that in the broadest sense planets are formed from the remnants of former stars, is this the first time astrophysicists have proposed that a "planet" can be made from the core of an old star after stripping away its less dense outer layers? If a neutron star is still a "star" and it is even denser than diamond, why is this suspected former white dwarf star is no longer a "star", but a "planet"?

[odourpreventer]

@davetoepfer My guess, since it's in orbit around something else and no longer has any star-like qualities. It's logical to call a neutron star a star because of its mass. Just my speculation.

[Rockydibotch]

Execllent post, thank you

[IudiciumInfernalum]

Someone should polish that diamond! Haha.

[zalmanusa]

Great video!

[BYMYSYD]

that's really interesting that they found a star that is that old only containing Hydrogen and Helium.

[FloareTheTiny]

Someone got grazed by a funny bullet.. Nice! :))

I think that adding a bit of humor to your videos is just great idea.

Good job, Tony. Keep posting!

[Jacnas]

3:40 10k times per second? Are you sure? I thought pulsars can't spin that fast. An order of magnitude lower frequency I could believe.

[8WholeThing]

A diamond the size of Baltimore? Does that include the Inner Harbor? All it needs is a moon made of Timonium.

[jaybow1982]

@8WholeThing He said that the pulsar is the size of Baltimore (most neutron stars are thought to be around 20kms in diameter), and the "diamond" is the companion orbiting it.

[SomedaysDreamersBC]

Diamond planet???? wanna bet space flight takes a serious jump in technology all of a sudden? LOL.

[tgizzle829]

@SomedaysDreamersBC diamonds are really common and are only expensive because the industry is controlled by a cartel

[TheMobiusTrap]

I wonder if perhaps that low metal star, and others like it, might be getting used by Type 2 interstellar civilizations as a means to acquire raw minerals. A good star can be used for more than just solar energy if someone knows how to draw out the heavier elements for use in the way we mine the earth for minerals, don't you think?

[rextrek]

keeps the edits in - they're funny great vid

[sorry8140]

how do they know how old the star is anyway? i mean, wouldnt they have to judge a star's age by the amount of metal it has in it (because the longer it is around, the more it should theoretically have)?

[JoergWessels]

Hi Tony. There's one thing I don't understand. At 1:46 you say "High metallicity stars are older than lower ones" whereas your source eso dot org states that "New stars (...) have higher amounts of metals in their composition than the older stars." which I find to be quite the opposite.

Could you explain this to me?

[piranha031091]

@JoergWessels Young stars that formed just after the big bang had low metallicity because these elements weren't around at that time. When they got older, their metallicity increased as they synthesized these elements. That's why stars that formed recently have lots of metal since their formation because they're made of the remains of older stars.

So young stars that formed just after the big bang have low metallicity

Old stars that formed just after the bigbang have high metallicity, and so on

[JoergWessels]

@piranha031091 "young stars that formed just after the big bang"? Isn't that a contradiction?

[piranha031091]

@JoergWessels Nope. Light takes time to travel, looking at distant stars also means looking back in time: if you're observing a galaxy 12 billion lightyears from us, you're observing it as it was 12 billion years ago. So it is made of relatively young stars that formed just after the Big Bang

[JoergWessels]

@piranha031091 Oh no, now I feel like fool. Thank you for your explanation.

[danielbluesmoke]

That planet would be black in color! That's how diamonds look when they are found in nature... And about that weird star, with low metallicity, I find it more interesting, and I bet that there's somethig wrong with the Big Bang Theory!

[dante2k8]

Its just a useless stone

[ScottishAtheist]

I really can't get my head round something 20km across spinning thousands of times a second. Just crazy.

[AlphaKiloOscarZulu]

@ScottishAtheist Yeah man, it's fucked ey. The amount of gravity around a standard neutron star is so high that the light around the edges of said star (pulsar) is travelling at about 1/3 the speed of light itself. That means that you can see much more than half of the star from a normal view... You could see about 13/20 of the star (instead of 10/20, which is the same as say, our sun) since it's own light is bending around behind it and escaping back to you... P.S. I like your name! :)

[par0z]

@tdarnell Keep up the good work! Your videos are always amazing and informative. Have you ever thought about writing a book?

[Ihatemelee]

So, if we send the probe to diamond planet now, we could be extint by the time it came back with a load of diamonds. woot. wheres my damn warp drive.

[ItsNotEvenSunny]

i did the math, and if a 20km/12.5mile diameter pulsar with a circumference of 39.25 miles spun at 10000 rotations per minute. then the equator of the star would be moving at 392,500 miles per second.that's more than 2x light speed, which doesn't sound accurate.

[a11m0n]

The sun is about 4 billion years old and about half way through it's life. The larger a star is the faster it uses up it's fuel. This star is larger than the sun but 13 billion years old? (scratches head) I don't get it.

[sushanalone]

@a11m0n it has probably gone past its red giant phase and might be a white dwarf now, the light that reached us took that long to travel,thats my assumption.

[Ridleysama]

Is it not possible for the star SDSS J102915+172927 to have captured and pulled in the calcium that was formed in a high mass star that went supernova?

[rijkent55]

Hi Tim : Much more plausible vehicles for the Oxygen is Dry Ice ( solid CO_2 ), water, H_2 0 , and there are other possibilities which can exist at far higher temperatures than liquid or solid Oxygen. Must get back to work again - lots to do. Hope this helps a little, Cheers, Rick.

[rijkent55]

Hi Tim, your knowledge of Astronomy leaves me way behind in the dust. However with respect the diamond star, if it made of Diamond, then it would be made solely of Carbon, as Diamond is one of the allotropes of Carbon. If Oxygen is present, is it solely as part of that planet's atmosphere ? Or does the oxygen form oxygen lakes or oxygen ice ? I have no idea of the surface temperature of the planet at this point. I just don't have time to reasearch this now - work to do. Thanks, Rick .

[MsNamasteLight]

~ Thank Y()U ~ Shared ~

[MsWanderer1]

Not a good environment for diamond mining! :-)

[bigscarytigermonster]

"What else is small, dense, and made up of carbon and oxygen?"

Kim Kardashian's brain?

[Starship1997]

In the far future, I bet really rich people would start mining the diamond from the planet and bringing back to earth

[JackyRBKwan]

at 0:15 you said +272927 when its +172927. =)

[Gibranmacias911]

One thing that gets me mad is that everything we see is as old as the distance between us so one day we could find a planet with life and when we get there it's gone or not like we saw

[eituzett]

These are so great ! :D

[PushMyCarr]

A planet made out of Diamond???

Man.... would I be rich if I lived there....

[InnSewerAnts]

@PushMyCarr Not really, if you lived there diamond would be the most common and thus most worthless thing around you ^^

[GAMESGLORIOUSGAMES]

@PushMyCarr ummm no because it would be a worthless material... its only expensive on earth because there very rare

[wufwufwufwuf]

you do a great job putting space across even some one like me can understand

thank you *****

[Kmykzy]

how did they figure out how old the first star was? because when you begin talking abut things that don't fit in the usual how can you measure and treat that thing as an usual object or situation ...

[Kohox]

awesome

[antho862008]

DIamonds are for ever.....

[camdengreen]

Tony (or one of you other astronomy experts), how was it determined that the star was 13 billion years old? How is this determined?

[gamper33]

@camdengreen The age is probably determined by its red shift. But I could be wrong.

[Matrixtechno]

4000 light-years away ... ok so I have to discovers faster than light travel first, and find a way to thow a planet from a pulsar to earth after that ! Then I'll be rich !

[Spakaford1]

Must... get... diamonds!!!1

[LsBaba]

I saw the ESO images of the "star that shouldn't exist" on their website and I'm still unclear as to whether this star is 13 billion years old _as_observed_ or we are seeing it as it was 13 bn years ago (in which case it may no longer exist). The latter I think, but can someone clarify?

[robertghouston]

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds... they should name the pulsar Lucy!

[clownpenisfart]

TRANSLATION: "All these worlds are yours, except SDSS J102915+ 172927."

[Cycloheximid]

my planet, nobody dare touch it !

[sferrin2]

LOL Toungue twister got ya. :-)

[styxpt]

Some alien civilization is transforming the star, depleting it from the heavier elements for the star to last longer..

[Gilmourist]

I'm glad you reported on the new planet. but carbon and oxygen? why not metal?

[david25luvit]

Hey Tony.... You're becoming something of a personality. You're antics in combination with you're excellent reporting skills has become your own personal delivery style. I find myself looking forward to your next video spot. Keep em coming young man....you're aces in my book!

[gachman]

Maybe someone stole the heavier elements...

[Danny77uk]

@gachman I was thinking the same thing!

[Ulti2k]

this sounds like a plot for "Treasure hunt on Bounty Bay 2510" :-)

[hypock1]

life took if from the star?

[handplanty]

Dear Tony,

I didn't hear you mention the mystery of the calcium that they found. Calcium shouldn't be in there if lithium, carbon and oxygen aren't in there, since calcium is so heavy. Any thoughts?

Handplanty

p.s. I think the star is an alien pet science project like LHC and ITER :)

[CyberNeticRodent]

@handplanty An Alien Element factory. Or some highy advanced Solar mining process. :p

[SuperiorApostate]

ALIENS CREATED A NEW STAR, I KNEW IT.

[robbiethewood]

cool diamond planet now how long would it take me to get there and back ha

[Neueregel]

nice one

!!

[marshallhwa]

2 dislikers must eat crap.and not look away. this video deserve 100000000000 like

[ibnmb]

Damn, I gotta get me that diamond on a ring for my girl!

[menvafan23]

awesome this universe is! 

[sarajanegarr]

so glad someone on my subs decided to talk about this diamond star, iv known about it for quite a bit now.

Thankyou darnell, much love :)

[esamiga]

Thank you again Tony. Yes, we're still learning about the formation of stars; so much to be discovered! Loved the diamond...

[pantsareillegal]

The only logical explanation for this star is that the Flying Spaghetti Monster felt like confusing us by putting it there, because he thought it would be funny.

[bappo456]

Awesome segment! Love your work Tony, I really wonder what that "Diamond Planet" would really look like...

[elpablonicolas]

Yes, thank you for your dedication. So much fun to watch

[FlowCell]

This video is now diamonds.

[Timei]

Great video

[blazak]

The real question is, are you going to see Apollo 18?

[dragonfirefoxx]

the bloopers were funny lol but thank you for your time and explaining and showing us all this. its awesome to learn stuff like this!

[lewiszim]

I love these videos! Thank you so much!

[grabster22]

I dont leave you comments much, but i watch all your videos, and like each one. Keep it up =3

[EmperorZeldar]

Awesome video, I guess we might have found a way to destroy the diamond economy now :p

[DeathsWill228]

Wow! That star is really strange. I wish I was an astronomer cause I would be ALL over that oddity.

[pkt42]

...and the lithium was destroyed somehow?

Or - the distribution of lithium in the early universe was not homogeneous?

[pkt42]

So the pulsar should be named Lucy. Why? (cue for song...) "Lucy in the sky-y with Diamond..."

[rroopeg]

@pkt42 I was just listening to that song, paused to watch this lol

[WILDLEGHORN]

Wish I could someday go into space !!!

[cristianfcao]

The 1st news is so weird!!!

[K3V1N9993]

Oh, my god. That pulsar went to Jared!!

[greycloud24]

imagine if could capture that former star, and stick a small finger sized metal loop on it. nobody in the history of earth has a had a 3.2X10^21 carrot diamond ring.

[Odashiman]

So, if this diamond object is considered a planet, what the hell happened to Pluto?

[BrickUnit]

there is no way to know what its made of unless they go there, looks can be decieving

[thisisnotanick]

@BrickUnit Provide evidence or STFU.

[BrickUnit]

@thisisnotanick i do have evidence, they dont

[thisisnotanick]

@BrickUnit Really? What evidence is that exactly?

[mrhappyboss]

I don't comment very often but it doesn't mean I don't LOVE these videos. In fact, I've got to say I think I look forward to them each and every week. Keep up the great work!

[psych0]

nursery rhymes becoming literal.

[freyjasage]

i love your videos. you're so smart and funny. :D

[alphacentiari]

...can u imagine 10,000 times per second the star is spinning..getting light headed just thinking 'bout how fast that is..well gotta go getting real dizzy now..hey blondie wait up for me..

[JadeChaos]

The bad takes make me laugh. Thanks for posting.

[spiderskater3]

I am Iron Man

[4730301]

sound like you are talking to little children

[rjdaredevil]

gota rush more building my spaceship.. gota get a big chunk out of that big ass diamond :D

[TheDivineWinds]

Diamondilium or Diamondium?

[paulwarelis]

@TheDivineWinds Diamondilium VS. Diamondium

[XxCrazyYoshixX]

hahaha... when i read in the title "Diamonds in the sky" i thought of The Beatles... then i read your description and i see "Diamonds in the Sky (without Lucy)" :D

[slonamu]

I can fuse iron.

[GeanJin]

So, what would be different if this star was to run out of Hydrogen? would it turn into a dwarf star like our sun will(?) ? or just disintegrate

[YOUTHENIZINGu]

i'm buying that diamond for my wife

[GuyFromCoby]

@IntolerantAtheist1 Keep your (and all) religion away from this channel.

[SEVENFLORES]

@GuyFromCoby be quiet ignorant. i'ts not our fault you are an ordinary closed minded person.

[SEVENFLORES]

ohh and i am not helping the guy you reply it to he's an idiot too.

[GuyFromCoby]

@SEVENFLORES Internet name calling, isn't anonymity wonderful?

[SEVENFLORES]

@GuyFromCoby yeah it is.

[stevo632]

Cheers mate, another great vid! :) Thanks for the info on the naming conventions :)

Still amazes me that there is still a lot to learn out there, I wonder what theories they come up with to explain the composition of the sun.

[iTzNoxy]

The star was mined for its elements by ALIENS!

Ancientaliens.jpg

[pashedmotatos]

So like, what star class is this new star that shouldn't exist?

And will this new star class be used for other stars (if we do indeed find some that are similar.)?

[behnamasid]

If we could have that much diamond we could just make everything out of diamond, and diamond would not cost much :D

[SelenianDawn]

Reeeeeeeally fast spin? centripetal forces could be spinning out the heavy stuff. Or something is just preventing the heavy stuff from glowing. High gravity pulling heavier elements away from the outer glow where you cant see them or some other self sorting effect. My guess is spin if I had to choose.

[mgthaking]

Thank you!!!

[305sFinestt]

I like the bloopers you add in Mr. Darnell. It let's us know you're human and not a machine full of knowledge :P

[MartianStories]

Spaceface bookfan.

I love your videos. You really do a fantastic show.

In the novel version of "2010" Arthur C Clarke wrote that Jupiter had a diamond core. I always thought that was an interesting idea.

[GoreTorn16]

Shine on you crazy Diamond!

[njimko23]

How they decide it is 13B years old?

[MrDopejohn]

They should name it Lucy...

[curiositygun93]

GODDAMIT why don't you do something on exotic stars such as Quark stars & Preon stars?????

[spiderskater3]

@curiositygun93 or porn stars?

[curiositygun93]

@spiderskater3 YEAH! THAT TOO

[MasterSpartan23]

Very ineresting, keep looking up!

[Vadalez8]

Awsome 5th view this video made my night. Thanks for the really cool info and all your hard work with your videos!

[tman383]

Wow interesting :O