Star Lucy, also known as V886 Centauri and BPM 37093, is a small star in the constellation Centaurus. This star was discovered by a group of scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 1992.
Upon further investigation, scientists confirmed there was something amazing in its core. Curious what it is? Let’s look at the facts below!
1. Transformed into a white dwarf star
Lucy is a white dwarf, a small star that has entered the final stages of its evolution. This is because hydrogen, the star’s fuel, has run out and is no longer capable of nuclear fusion reactions.
When all that happens, the amount of helium in the core of the star will be abundant. Eventually, helium will evolve into carbon, a sign that the star has died or no longer shines.
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2. Researched using the asteroseismological method
Illustration of how Asteroseismology works (spacescience.org)–
In 1992, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics detected a vibration that created a pulsation in Lucy. Futurism reported that this pulsation was caused by a drastic drop in temperature at the star’s core, which reached below 6,600 degrees Celsius.
Then in 1995, scientists tried to do research by using these pulsations to determine the composition of Lucy’s star. The method used is asteroseismology, which is a method that involves radio waves and star spectra.
Travis Metcalfe, one of the researchers, revealed that asteroseismology works on stars the same way seismographs work with geologists to study the Earth’s interior.
Also Read: 8 Astronomy Questions Still Looking For Answers
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3. Found a diamond boulder in Lucy’s core
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Illustration by Lucy (doc. Harvard Smithsonian EDU via BBC News)–
After going through a series of studies, it was only in 2004 that Lucy’s whereabouts were confirmed. There is something interesting about this star, which is that its core is filled with very large chunks of diamonds. Because of this, Lucy is popularly nicknamed the ‘diamond heart star’.
Since Lucy’s core is dominated by carbon, since then Lucy has started producing diamonds. Reported Natural Diamonds, Lucy has a diamond with a diameter of 4,000 kilometers and a weight of 10 billion trillion trillion carats. This makes Lucy’s diamond the largest and most expensive diamond ever found.
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4. His name was inspired by the song The Beatles
The Beatles (rollingstone.com)–
The name ‘Lucy’ is actually inspired by the legendary Beatles song, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamond’. This song was released in 1967 after John Lennon, a member of The Beatles, after accidentally saw a portrait of a girl among the stars like a diamond drawn by his son.
Who would have thought, after that Lucy’s star name entered into several popular works. Two of them are Jim Jarmusch’s 2013 film ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ and John C. Wright’s science fiction novel ‘Count to a Trillion’.
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5. Located on the border of the constellation Centaurus
Constellation Centaurus (doc. Stellarium)–
Lucy is located in the constellation Centaurus, precisely within its borders. This constellation is the 9th largest constellation in the night sky which has eleven main stars.
In Greek mythology, Centaurus is a Centaur figure who has the appearance of half human and half horse. Therefore, the Constellation Centaurus will appear like a human in the body of a horse in the night sky.
Those are some facts about the star Lucy who has a diamond heart. Although not the only diamond star, Lucy is quite popular because of her name which was inspired by a song. How, very interesting, isn’t it?
Also Read: Apart from Hubble, these are 5 super space telescopes that are rarely known
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