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I think the article can be summarized as "A gravitational wave detector has found an object of 2.6 solar masses. Astronomers don't know whether it's an exotic t
by incompatible 6y ago
I think the article can be summarized as "A gravitational wave detector has found an object of 2.6 solar masses. Astronomers don't know whether it's an exotic type of neutron star or a light black hole".
It doesn't seem especially surprising that objects of 2.6 solar masses could exist. It would be more surprising to me if they could not.
- PopeDotNinja 6y agoI like the idea that a neutron star can be right at the limit of becoming a black hole, but still be a star. Then a space pigeon flies down to the surface for a quick rest, and shhhhhllurrrrrp... black hole.
- Retric 6y agoThe mass limit depends on how fast it’s rotating, so they can simply slow down slightly and slurp, black hole.
- PopeDotNinja 6y agoIt blows my mind to think that shining a light on a black hole makes it grow.
- treeman79 6y agoSpoiler for Expanse book series. This is a plot device In a later book. A neutron Star on the very edge. Someone throws essential some dust on it to get it trigger at the right moment
- hliyan 6y agoOn an unrelated note is there a service that translates news into this type of summary? I can't be the only person willing to fork over money for something like that.
- mikro2nd 6y agoThey used to be called "science journalists". I think the reason they disappeared may have something to do with the fact that we (largely) stopped forking over money for what they did.
- enriquto 6y agoThat summary should be the first sentence of the story (or a subtitle). Instead of a "service" that rewrites badly written stories maybe we need journalists who can write.
- simonh 6y agoA star could form in that mass range, but we don't think it could remain stable enough to collapse at that mass range at the end of it's life as a star. Our current models indicate we would expect it to blast off enough mass that the remnant would be too small to undergo complete gravitational collapse. That's why finding one is so interesting and useful.