Scientists spot star transforming into colossal cosmic diamond

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14-06-2023, 19:39

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INA - SOURCES

Researchers are studying a white dwarf star about 104 light years away, practically in our cosmic backyard, that's slowly crystallizing.

The star, with the ungainly name of HD 190412 C, appears to be in the initial stages of turning into what science alert refers to as a "cosmic diamond."

As detailed in a new paper accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers have been studying this particular star to understand further how the dead remains of certain stars harden into a dense core of crystallized carbon and oxygen.

But whether we'll ever be able to see the cosmic bling with our own eyes is exceedingly unlikely. Scientists predict this process could take a quadrillion years — a million billion years — while our entire universe is only an estimated 13.8 billion years young.