The Sky Tonight

February 25, 2014

Rocks around the clock: asteroids pound tiny star
Canberra, Australia (SPX) Feb 25, 2014
Scientists using CSIRO's Parkes telescope and another telescope in South Africa have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids - large lumps of rock from space. "One of these rocks seems to have had a mass of about a billion tonnes," CSIRO astronomer and member of the research team Dr Ryan Shannon said. PSR J0738-4042 lies 37,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Puppis. The environment around this star is especially harsh, full of radiation a ... read more

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