BPM 37093 is a white dwarf star 50 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Centaurus, for which enough evidence has been gathered to infer that it consists of crystalline carbon, confirming previous theoretical predictions. It is estimated that the decayed star's core contains a 10 decillion (1×10³⁴) carat (2 septillion tonne) diamond, approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles) in diameter. White dwarf Sirius-B in x-rays A white dwarf is an astronomical object which is produced when a low or medium mass star dies. ... STAR is an acronym for: Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Labs, a fictional research organization in the DC Comics universe. ... A light year (or light-year, or lightyear), abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: about 9. ... Centaurus (Latin for centaur) was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and counts also among the 88 modern constellations. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams. ... For other uses, see Diamond (disambiguation). ...

Researchers at Harvard University announced this discovery February 13, 2004. As a solid object, it exhibits "ringing" which was detected by the researchers. The object is thought to be an example of one of the stages of stellar evolution; in this case, as the stellar material of BPM 37093 was consumed by thermonuclear reactions (probably the triple-alpha process), the resultant "ash" is carbon at enormous pressure. "A teaspoon-sized, white dwarf diamond, will weigh five tonnes" [1]. This density is orders of magnitude higher than ordinary matter, so while the star is indeed (largely) crystalline carbon, it does not much resemble an ordinary diamond. Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In astronomy, stellar evolution is the sequence of changes that a star undergoes during its lifetime, the hundreds of thousands, millions or billions of years during which it emits light and heat. ... The triple alpha process is the process by which three helium nuclei (alpha particles) are transformed into carbon. ...

As a common name the discoverers humorously entitled it Lucy after The Beatles' hit Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The Beatles were a pop and rock music group from Liverpool, England, who continue to be held in the very highest regard for their artistic achievements, their huge commercial success, and their groundbreaking role in the history of popular music. ... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a song written mostly by John Lennon (with some material by Paul McCartney) in 1967 and recorded by The Beatles for their album, Sgt. ...

External links

• BBC News: Diamond star thrills astronomers
• Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, press release