Astronomers have discovered an ancient stellar cluster where they believe a planet was literally torn to pieces by the dying remains of a star.Using telescopes including Nasa's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, researchers based in Italy and London discovered a source of X-rays close to the centre of a globular cluster known as NGC 6388.Previous observations had convinced astronomers the source of the unusual X-rays was a central black hole at least 200 to 300 times the mass of the Sun. But after studying the new data, they found the X-rays were not located in the right place for that to be true -- and that the radiation gradually dropped at the same rate predicted by models of a planet being pulled apart by a white dwarf.A is born at the end of an average-sized star's life cycle, once most of its hydrogen fuel is used up. They are both extremely small -- about the size of Earth -- and dense, with the same mass as our Sun. Unable to generate energy using fusion, the star is left to glow dimly and slowly cool.
If a planet were to pass too close it might wreck this relatively calm scene, and be sucked in by the star's intense gravity and torn apart. The planet would be destroyed and emit X-rays, which astronomers believe they have now detected within NGC 6388.The official name for this brutal cosmic act of nature is "tidal disruption", which arguably underplays the situation a little.In their paper from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Melania Del Santo of the National Institute for Astrophysics and colleagues from Italian institutions and University College London explained the planet would have been about a third the size of Earth, and the star would have been slightly greater in mass than our own Sun.The team say that it is still possible the X-rays are caused by something else, but after watching NGC 6388 for 200 days with the X-ray telescope on Nasa's Swift Gamma Ray Burst mission, they explain that it does not appear to be a binary system with a neutron star, and is too faint to be a binary system with a stellar-mass black hole.
The team also published an image of NGC 6388 with the X-rays detected in pink, and visible light in red, green and blue, that shows the source of the X-rays was not the centre of the cluster as once thought, but a location to one side -- the putative dead planet. A full list of the authors and the study can be seen at the Chandra project's website and the Royal Astronomical Society.The bad news for Earth is that eventually our own Sun will likely end up as a white dwarf star of exactly this type. Worse still, our planet will have been incinerated long before this, when our currently friendly star balloons to several times its existing size. However -- there is good news too. The nearest existing White Dwarf is Sirius B, located a pleasingly distant 8.6 light years away.COLLECT for free in AS LITTLE AS 60 SECS large item delivery from next day Look out for products badged Fast Track to get it today - Collect in as little as 60 seconds - 7 days to collect - Dedicated Fast Track counter in-store
- 7 days a week - Buy before 6pm and we'll deliver by 10pm - Choice of 4 delivery slots From next day, 7 days a week Choice of 4 delivery slots > LEGO and construction toys > LEGO Star Wars 1 - 50 of 324 items Get your building cap on and let your imagination run wild with our great range of LEGO and construction toys. We have playsets from popular films such as LEGO Star Wars and Disney so you can build up a collection of all your beloved films and reenact scenes with your favourite characters. For those wanting to create new stories and adventures, our LEGO Friends sets will let you explore a variety of places and new characters. Our LEGO Technic sets are hands on model construction sets for those tech lovers to build vehicles such as cranes, planes and many more. As well as construction toys we also have a huge range of musical toys and arts and crafts equipment, for other great ways to get creative with your kids. Here’s the official announcement of the new LEGO Death Star set to release at the end of this month.
US $499.99 – CA $599.99 – DE 499.99€ – UK £399.99 – DK 4499.00 DKK. Available on the 15th of September to VIPs, 30th of September for everyone else. Win the battle for the Empire with the awesome Death Star! Re-enact amazing scenes from the Star Wars saga with the Empire’s ultimate planet-zapping weapon—the Death Star! With over 4,000 pieces, this fantastic model has a galaxy of intricate and authentic environments, including a super-laser control room, Imperial conference chamber, hangar bay with moving launch rack and Lord Vader’s TIE Advanced with space for Vader inside, Emperor Palpatine’s throne room, Droid maintenance room, detention block, trash compactor, tractor beam, cargo area, turbo laser with spring-loaded shooters and seats for the 2 Death Star Gunners, and 2 movable turbo laser towers. This fantastic set also includes 23 iconic minifigures and 2 Droids to ensure hours of Star Wars battle fun. Includes 23 minifigures: Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Imperial Navy Officer, Imperial Officer, 2 Stormtroopers, 2 Death Star Troopers, 2 Emperor’s Royal Guards, 2 Death Star Gunners, Death Star Droid, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C-3PO, Han Solo, Han Solo (disguise), Luke Skywalker (Tatooine), Luke Skywalker (disguise) and Luke Skywalker (final duel), plus R2-D2, an Imperial Astromech and a Dianoga trash compactor monster.
Features a superlaser control room, Imperial conference chamber, hangar bay with moving launch rack and detachable TIE Advanced with space for Lord Vader inside, Emperor Palpatine’s throne room, Droid maintenance room, detention block, trash compactor, tractor beam, cargo area, turbo laser with spring-loaded shooters and seats for the 2 Death Star gunners, and 2 movable turbo laser towers. Weapons include 3 Lightsabers, 4 blasters, 3 blaster pistols, 4 blaster rifles, 2 force pikes, 2 Force Lightning elements and a bowcaster. Load up and fire the turbo laser’s spring-loaded shooters to keep the rebels at bay. Maneuver Lord Vader’s TIE Advanced into position and prepare for launch. Battle the Royal Guard in the throne room and then take on Palpatine himself! Help Leia escape from the detention block and swing to safety with Luke across the chasm! Will Obi-Wan shut down the tractor beam and help the rebels defeat the Empire? Can you spot the Dianoga trash compactor monster?