Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jul 13, 2005 19:55:56 GMT -6
Massive quake leaves neutron star ringing note of “F sharp”
From World Science...
A massive quake in a neutron star left the super-dense star ringing like a bell, researchers say—and if we could have heard it, it would have sounded a slightly mis tuned version of the note from a piano’s 22nd key, called F sharp.
An artist's conception of the way gamma radiation expanded away from a neutron star in a giant bubble at light speed. Later, the surface of that bubble reached Earth to be picked up by detectors here. (NASA) An animation shows the expanding bubble of gamma rays as it first leaves the star, then, tens of thousands of years later, reaches Earth.
Scientists say this vibration will let them for the first time probe what’s inside a neutron star, a super-compact object believed to be something like a giant atomic nucleus.
They said the burst produced vibrations in the star that generated quick fluctuations in the X-ray radiation it released into space. These pulses are emitted during each seven-second rotation of the fast-spinning star and reveal the frequency, or speed, of the star’s vibrations.
“This explosion was akin to hitting the neutron star with a gigantic hammer, causing it to ring like a bell,” said Richard Rothschild, an astrophysicist at the University of California and one of the authors of the report.
More here: www.world-science.net/othernews/050713_fsharpfrm.htm
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Bang a gong...
