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!Marc!
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Join Date: May 2009
 
2009-08-02, 17:31

Quote:
Originally Posted by Enki View Post
Exponential accelerating curves? I don't remember seeing what the rate of shrinkage is. The off-gassing has to be relatively insignificant compared to the total mass. Smaller and denser, means greater gravity at the surface which means more inward acceleration per unit time... Whenever this one does go we learn a bunch more about how big stars really die.
I think its safe(ish) to say that it would be somewhat exponential shrinkage - If this is indeed the final years of this stars fusion and not a large pulsation, then I think an implosion would be very hard to describe in linear terms. Still I wouldn't hold out for it in my lifetime - but if it did go typeII Supernova, it would surely be the astronomical event of our lifetimes.

Incidently, I just watched last night great lecture on stellar evolution, so this was all fresh in my mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNhLG... 5A12E&index=9
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