Imagine a thing that has had a strange bond with you humans since ancient times, but you have always turned a blind eye to it. You've been taught that this thing is a "bad omen" since you were a child, but only now have you realized that it's a small, but super-dense monster!
Truth be told, we tend to only care about what is closest to us. The sun, the earth, the moon, we are too familiar with these things, but we ignore the existence of more magical and interesting existence. Just like Sirius, which most of you are no stranger to, the brightest star in the night sky, visible with the naked eye. But do you guys really understand it?
Sirius is actually a binary star system consisting of two stars, Sirius A and Sirius B. Sirius A occupies the leading role, shining brightly, and what we usually call "Sirius" is it. And what about Sirius B? It could only hide silently in the aura of Sirius A, and it looked dim.
But don't be fooled by its appearance, Sirius B is the real density monster! Imagine what the sun we are familiar with would look like if it were compressed to the size of the earth? The volume of the sun is 1.3 million times that of the earth! Can you imagine how terrifying that density would be if such a huge behemoth was compressed to the size of the earth?
Now let's imagine it a little further. The mass of Sirius B is 330,000 times the mass of the Earth! That is, if the Sun were compressed to a density of the size of the Earth, it would be more than twice as large! Can you imagine the concept of density of this degree? If a small piece of Sirius B material fell on the Earth, it would be a catastrophe!
Well, let's not think about that nightmare scenario for a moment. Let's talk about the past of Wolf Star B again. Once upon a time, Sirius B wasn't what it is now. It was the giant of the past, even larger than the current Sirius A! It's just that as time passed, it slowly ran out of fuel, began to shrink and collapse little by little, and finally became the small, exquisite, super-dense little thing it is today.
You can probably understand why Sirius B is so terrifying by now, right? How many ups and downs have been experienced in this, isn't it emotional?
But it's not over, and Sirius B's life has even more dramatic scenes waiting for it. Some scientists predict that perhaps one day, the interior of Sirius B will suddenly erupt, forming a so-called "supernova explosion". At that time, the Earth could also be affected by the impact, which is miles away. But don't worry, it's just speculation on the part of scientists.
Speaking of which, it seems that we are talking farther and farther away. Looking back now, do you have a whole new understanding of Sirius B, a little thing that has been neglected by mankind for so long, and it has such a terrifying density. There will be more bizarre plots in its life, and where will it go in the future? But it is undeniable that Sirius B has taught us that we should not underestimate any existence, even if it is dark, and the hidden power may be terrifying.
By the way, let's go back to humanity itself. If Sirius B is so powerful, will our lovely Earth be like it one day? Theoretically, neither the mass nor the pressure of the Earth can make itself evolve into a white dwarf. But don't rejoice too early, our sun may expand and swallow up the earth one day in the future!
Doesn't that sound scary and exciting? Of course, with human intelligence, there will be a way to deal with it. Whether it's relocating to a new home at that time, or directly researching a way to fight the sun, humanity will be able to control it all. Isn't it much more reassuring to think of this?
Well, that's the end of today's topic. By learning about the neglected density monster of Sirius B, I think you've lifted a little bit of the magic of the universe. Life is short for decades, and we are often blinded by everything in front of us. But as long as we look up, the unreachable universe is full of surprises waiting for us to discover and explore. Staying curious, never talking about forever, is the key to us to appreciate more of the incredible!
Disclaimer: The information in this article comes from the Internet, which is not guaranteed to be completely correct and is for reference only.