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Procyon
Call it “The Revenge of the Scrawny.” The Procyon star system was born with two stars. One was bigger and heavier than the other, so it shined much more brightly. Because of that showiness, though, it burned out much more quickly. Today, all that’s left of the star is its tiny, dead core – while the scrawny companion shines on. Procyon climbs into good view, due east, by about 9 p.m. That’s just before Sirius, the Dog Star, which rises to the lower right of Procyon. In fact, the name “Procyon” means “before the dog” – an indication that it leads the Dog Star into the sky. What we see of Procyon is the scrawny survivor, Procyon A. But “scrawny” is relative – the star is bigger and heavier than the Sun. But when the system was born, the other star, Procyon B, was much more impressive. Because of its greater mass, it “burned” the nuclear fuel in its core much more quickly. That made it much brighter than Procyon A. It used up its fuel in a hurry, though. It cast its outer layers into space, leaving only its hot but dead core – a white dwarf. It’s more than half the mass of the Sun, but only about as big as Earth. It’ll shine faintly for billions of years. Procyon A is about to follow the same path. It’s nearing the end of its “prime” phase of life. Soon, it’ll puff up to giant proportions. Then it, too, will cast off its outer layers. That will leave Procyon with two “dead” stars – glowing embers in the cosmic night. Script by Damond Benningfield
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