"Impossible Star" observed by Herschel Telescope Observation

[SiliconJon]

Herschel telescope finds 'impossible' star so massive it would dwarf our sun - CSMonitor.com

I think the term paradoxical is more appropriate than impossible for obvious reasons, but intriguing stuff no less.

[Whir]

Neat.

[Chuckiechan]

In a statement, European scientists said Herschel has discovered an "impossible" star so massive it would dwarf our own sun,

Something is not explained correctly. AFAIK, our sun is not a particularly large star as stars go.

It already contains eight to 10 times the mass of the sun

Thus, I'd say it already dwarfs our sun.

Something is missing in the context.

[mrniceguy]

"According to our current understanding, you should not be able to form stars larger than eight solar masses," Zavagno said.
This is because the fierce light emitted by such large stars should blast away their birth clouds before any more mass can accumulate. But somehow they do form.
Many of these "impossible" stars are already known, some containing up to 150 solar masses, but now that Herschel has seen one near the beginning of its life, astronomers can use the data to investigate how it is defying their theories.

The newborn star looks set to turn into one of the biggest and brightest stars in our galaxy within the next few hundred thousand years. It already contains eight to 10 times the mass of the sun and is still surrounded by an additional 2000 solar masses of gas and dust from which it can feed further.

so they're saying they're wrong, but they don't know why.

[SiliconJon]

So have they figured out yet at what stage in the solar, or maybe even galactic?, process H2O is made? It seems to large to be planetary, being found on so many solar objects. You think it's was something localized to our sun star? Or perhaps a little further out? Have they spotted any signs of water in nebulae?

Hey, look what I just found : H2O masers found in a nebula.

[astro-ph/0703502] New detections of H2O masers in planetary nebulae and post-AGB stars using the Robledo-70m antenna

Hey, looks like quite a few of those found around town:

Arcetri H2O Maser catalog

Has my question been answered? I seem to be reading the wrong bulletins if so.

[SiliconJon]

Epoch Times - Hole in Space Found by Herschel Telescope

[Orangeline]

Pretty cool stuff but as many have pointed out there are many stars in existence that already "dwarf" our sun.

[SiliconJon]

Yeah, sometimes these "science" articles have too much of a tabloid feel to them. I guess cold hard wording doesn't get enough eyeballs.

[butch81385]

Pretty cool stuff but as many have pointed out there are many stars in existence that already "dwarf" our sun.

But none have been seen at this early stage of development. They are hoping to gather the information required to see why these stars don't fit their theoretical model in terms of mass. A young star that is still forming could potentially give them this understanding.

[no1_vern]

Of course not. The average "scientific bulletin" probably gets a few hundred scholars reading it.

However, put some interesting, if unrealistic graphics of what is happening in the article, and add in sensational words like: impossible, zooming, new, epic, "top ten", it seems to garner many more viewers.

[SiliconJon]

Well, that won't stop me from digging...I can filter out the nuggets from the dirt.

[Atomic Rooster]

First an "impossible star" and now a "hole" in space. These guys are on a roll.