--- title: "Scientists Spot “Stripped, Pulsating Core” of Star Caused By Horrific Accident" description: "  Scientists studying a group of stars made an astonishing but \"serendipitous\" discovery when they realized that Gamma Columbae, previously thought to be your average bright, giant, maybe even binary star, might actually be the \"stripped pulsating core of a massive star,\" according to a study published this week in Nature Astronomy. If true, that […]" date: "2022-11-02" modified: "2022-11-02" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stripped-pulsating-core-star" categories: - "Space" tags: - "binary stars" - "star" - "stars" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Spot “Stripped, Pulsating Core” of Star Caused By Horrific Accident ![In a "serendipitous" turn of events, scientists inadvertently spotted an ultra-rare naked stellar core, the first for a star this massive.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Core Dump Scientists studying a group of stars made an astonishing but "serendipitous" discovery when they realized that Gamma Columbae, a fairly average celestial body, might actually be the "stripped pulsating core of a massive star," according to a [study published this week]() in *Nature Astronomy*. If true, that means Gamma Columbae is missing the envelope, or vast shroud of gas, that hides a star's nuclear fusion powered core. What caused the stripping of this atmospheric envelope is not definitively known, but the scientists posit that Gamma Columbae running out of hydrogen could've caused its envelope to expand and swallow up a nearby star, likely its binary partner. But in the middle of that relatively common process, something appears to have horrifically gone wrong and ejected the envelope — and possibly even led to the two stars merging. ## Naked Core Before the disaster, the scientists believe Gamma Columbae could have been up to 12 times the mass of our Sun. Now, it's a comparatively meager 5 stellar masses. Although a naked stellar core missing its envelope has been theorized to exist, it's never been observed in a star this size. "Having a naked stellar core of such a mass is unique so far," said study co-author Norbert Pryzbilla, head of the Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck, in an [interview with *Vice*](). Astronomers had an idea of what the cores of massive and low mass stars looked like, Pryzbilla continued, but there wasn't "much evidence" for cores of masses in between. ## Star Power It's an exceedingly rare find because the star is in a "a short-lived post-stripping structural re-adjustment phase" that will only last 10,000 years, according to the study. That's "long for us humans but in astronomical timescales, very, very short," Przybilla told *Vice*. "It will always stay as a peculiar object." The opportunity to study such a rarely exposed stellar core could provide scientists an invaluable look into the evolution of binary star systems. And whatever astronomers learn from the star, it's a fascinating glimpse at stellar destruction at a nearly incomprehensible scale. **More on stars:** *[Black Hole Spotted Burping Up Material Years After Eating a Star]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()