Science / Medicine : Evolution of Star Monitored
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Scientists have monitored the evolution of a star by tracking its changes in brightness, a process usually much too slow be observed in an astronomer’s lifetime. Researchers drew on records dating to 1704 to compile a record of how the star has gradually brightened.
The star is P Cygni, which lies in the constellation Cygnus. Researchers said the star has evolved about twice as fast as standard theories would predict. That may be because of overestimation of the star’s mass or underestimation of how fast the outer layers of such stars expand, they said.
The scientists, from Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, published their work last week in the journal Nature.
