A recent StarDate report (NPR) told of pulsars which are stars that are wearing down, falling apart like worn out humans. Pulsars are “the remnants of once-mighty stars that emit beams of energy like cosmic lighthouses” and they are born when the core of a massive star stops producing energy. However, says StarDate, if they partner up with another pulsar they regain energy and get strong again. Just like in tango: “. . . if they have a companion star, they can spin up again by stealing some of its gas — a process that can make the pulsar spin hundreds of times a second.”
Another StarDate reported how the Earth’s axis being at a tilt in relation to the sun is why we have season’s. However, Venus has a straight up and down axis in it orbit. In dancing tango, think of yourself as the Earth when learning the off-axis moves like volcadas and colgadas and be Venus when the dance calls for you to be straight to the core, trusting the forces of your orbit.
When you start dancing regularly in the milongas, you will grasp how the idea that we are heavenly bodies trying to stay in our orbits, giving and receiving energy, is not so far fetched.
Full script of StarDate report on Pulsars:
“They signal to us across thousands of light-years, pulsing through the cosmic static like a vinyl record that’s reached the end of its songs….like the furious rhythm of a tom-tom….or like the whine of an electric motor….
These are the calls of pulsars — the remnants of once-mighty stars that emit beams of energy like cosmic lighthouses.
A Heavenly Milonga
A pulsar is born when the core of a massive star stops producing energy. It collapses, forming a neutron star. Such a stellar remnant is more massive than the Sun, but only a few miles in diameter. A chunk of its matter the size of a thimble would weigh billions of tons.
As the core collapses, it spins faster, like an ice skater who pulls in her arms — up to dozens of revolutions every second. It also generates a powerful magnetic field. As the newborn neutron star spins, particles trapped in the magnetic field emit beams of energy from the magnetic poles — often in the form of radio waves. If Earth lies in the path of one of the beams, telescopes detect rapid pulses of energy — hence the name “pulsar” — short for “pulsating star.”
Over time, pulsars lose energy, so they spin slower. But if they have a companion star, they can spin up again by stealing some of its gas — a process that can make the pulsar spin hundreds of times a second.
The rate at which a pulsar spins can be changed by the pull of companions — including planets. More about that tomorrow.”