Analysis:

After more than eight years of observation and research, astronomers recently announced that a white dwarf in Sagittarius is the largest diamond in the Milky Way known to mankind.

According to the information of Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a white dwarf named BPM37093 in Sagittarius near the Southern Cross has a diamond core with a diameter of 3,000 kilometers. Its weight is 2.27 trillion tons, which is converted into the unit we calculate diamonds, which is the 34th power carat of 10. The largest diamond on the earth is the 530-carat "Star of Africa", which is one of the jewels in the British crown.

But the outer layer of this planet is covered with hydrogen and helium, and this cosmic gem is hidden under these gases. "It is the mother of diamonds. Some even say it's Lucy in the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Astronomer Travis Metcalfe said that a team he led was observing and studying the planet.

As early as the 1960s, astronomers speculated that this cold white dwarf had a crystalline core, but it was not until recently that evidence was obtained. BPM37093 was formed after a sun-sized star burned all the nuclear fuel and died. The strong pressure inside the death star crystallizes carbon.

Astronomers know its internal structure from its pulses. Lucy beats regularly. Dr Metcalfe said: "It is by observing its pulsation that we know the interior of the white dwarf, just as geologists study the interior of the earth with seismographs. We found that the carbon inside this white dwarf has crystallized into the largest diamond in the Milky Way. "

This means that other white dwarfs also have carbon nuclei inside. Our sun will also become a white dwarf in 5 billion years. In another 2 billion years, its core will also become a huge carbon crystal and a huge diamond in the center of the solar system.

An Australian scientific research official said that astronomers have been observing BPM37093 for more than eight years. It is 50 light years away from the earth, which means that we can't see it with the naked eye.

According to the report of * * * 15, if your lover promises to pick a sun, moon or star in the sky for you, please say "no" to him and tell him that you only want a white dwarf named "BPM37093". Why? Because this burnt-out star has completely turned into a "big diamond" weighing 10× 1 100×1100×1100 carat! Scientists have discovered "super diamonds" in the universe.

According to experts from the Center for Astrophysics of Harvard-Smithsonian Institution in the United States, this white dwarf is 2,500 miles in diameter, but its interior has completely crystallized into a "diamond". The weight of this white dwarf "Giant Diamond" now is 10× 1 100×1trillion carats!

Travis Mitka, an astrophysicist at Harvard-Smithsonian Institution, told reporters: "There is a theory that when the inside of a white dwarf is cooled to a certain temperature, it will crystallize. The problem is that when the white dwarf cools, it will not store any heat, so this giant diamond is difficult to detect. "

However, Mitka and his colleagues-Michael Montgomery of Cambridge University in the UK, Antonio Cana of the Federal University of santa catarina in Brazil and Don Wingate, an astronomer at the University of Texas, found that when the white dwarf has not completely cooled down, the light and sound frequencies can still be detected on its surface, but inside it, it has begun to appear as a "diamond".

Montgomery, an astronomer at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, said: "The search for white dwarf nuclei has been going on for decades, but we have not found conclusive evidence until recently." By observing the "pulse beat" of white dwarfs, scientists can study the interior of white dwarfs in a way similar to studying the core with seismographs. Through the data obtained from research, scientists found that the interior of "BPM37093" has indeed solidified into a "giant diamond".

You need a magnifying glass as big as the sun to evaluate its grade.

According to Mitka, most stars, including the sun, will end their luminous life and form white dwarfs. Mitka said, "First, a star will burn its hydrogen, and then it will begin to expand into a red giant. Finally, it will gradually lose its gas shell, leaving only a white-hot core in the middle-becoming a white dwarf. "

Mitka said that white dwarfs burn their helium by nuclear fusion, producing more and more carbon and oxygen. When the temperature of white dwarfs reaches 65,438+0.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, they will begin to cool slowly. At this time, the white dwarf will pulse regularly, and this process will last for 654.38+0 billion years. In this process, its optical frequency can be detected, and it will also make a deep sound, just like the big clock in the universe.

Most known white dwarfs are smaller than the sun, however, "BPM37093" is only a little bigger than the sun, and it is the largest known white dwarf. "You may need a magnifying glass as big as the sun to evaluate the grade of this diamond," Mitka said.

This is not a real diamond, but it is very similar in structure.

It is reported that this fascinating celestial body-the white dwarf "BPM37093" is located in Sagittarius, 50 light years away from the earth. Obviously, even the bravest treasure hunters on earth can only sigh at the ocean. But according to scientists, "BPM37093" is not a real "diamond". Don Wingate, an astronomer at the University of Texas, said, "In fact, its internal structure is not exactly the same as that of a diamond, but it is very close."