Questions:
1. Scientists believe the star V886 Centauri is composed mainly of carbon and oxygen, has a hydrogen atmosphere, and a dense crystal core. And given the core’s probable size, on February 13, 2004, the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) declared it the universe’s largest _______. Fill in the blank.
2. Researchers at CfA conferred a nickname to the core of V886 Centauri drawn from a song by The Beatles. What is the nickname? The song is from the album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
3. V886 Centauri is a pulsating X star. There are many subtypes of such stars. V886 Centauri for example is of type Y. The primary component of X is electron degenerate matter. Y is distinguished by light from it appearing to pulsate with a period between half a minute and 25 minutes. Name X and Y.
4. The bodies of stars can oscillate in different ways. Name the branch of science that studies these oscillations. Based on such studies, astronomers reported in 2004 that around 90% of the mass of V886 Centauri may have crystallised, meaning the crystal component weighed at least 5,100 billion billion billion kg.
5. While V886 Centauri may be the largest _______ in the universe (see Q1), what is its largest counterpart (so far) on the earth named? It was discovered in South Africa on January 26, 1905.
Visual:
The internal structure of V886 Centauri has been designated K, depicted above. This refers to one of three possible cubic structures the repeating unit of a crystal can have.
Answers:
1. Diamond
2. Lucy
3. White dwarf, ZZ Ceti (or DAV)
4. Astroseismology
5. Cullinan diamond
Visual: Body-centred cubic (bcc)
