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(ANSA) – the sun has a crystal future In 10 billion years, our star It is consolidated as the oldest "sisters" who developed the core of solid oxygen and carbon to become the real crystal balls.
This phenomenon, predicted by scientists 50 years ago, was first shown by data collected by Gaia satellite from the European Space Agency (Esa). Research was finally published by scientists from Warwick University in Great Britain.
The study examined the color and luminosity of approximately 15,000 white dwarfs, i.e. Stars that were similar to our Sun and who reached the final stage of their evolution after burning all of the "fuel".
The stars, like the Sun, use hydrogen as a fuel and obtain it in the nucleus by nuclear fusion. Among the oldest star objects in space, white dwarfs are so predictable a life cycle that they are often used as "cosmic watches" to accurately assess the age of groups close to them.
Observations made using the Gaia satellite show that these ancient stars develop the heart of solid oxygen and carbon because they crystallize during their life, that is, they go through a transition phase, similar to that which turns water into ice, but at much higher temperatures. .
This phenomenon can slow down its cooling, which is why they are potentially older than the presumed so far in the scientific world. "All white dwarves will sooner or later crystallize in their evolution, although the most massive process has begun earlier," explains Pier Emmanuel Tremblay, astrophysicist. "This means that billions of white dots in our galaxy have already completed the process and are essentially crystal balls in the sky," he said.
And he concluded: "The sun will become a white crystalline dwarf in 10,000 million years."
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