Publication Date:
2011-08-19
Description:
Evidence was recently presented that in medieval times Sirius was a bright red star, rather than the present bluish-white star. Here, the results of attempts to detect possible planetary nebula ejecta toward Sirius using data obtained by the IUE are presented. Based on these results and in the light of recent advances in understanding white-dwarf evolution, it is proposed that Sirius B underwent a recent thermonuclear runaway event triggered by a diffusion-induced CN reaction.
Keywords:
ASTROPHYSICS
Type:
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836); 324; 235-237
Format:
text