Skip to content
Vatican Observatory
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact

You Are What You Eat

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  17 Nov 2015

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

We are told to be mindful of what we consume, lest we turn into a doughnut, a french fry, or a hamburger. We usually do not transmogrify into the various foods that we like. We may gain a few pounds which, we argue, will keep us warmer in the winter months.

Objects in the universe, however, can change completely into other objects if they ‘consume’ too much material. Any planet, for example, will stop being a planet if it eats enough hydrogen to grow to a mass that is 0.08 times the mass of the Sun.

In this case, the planet (any planet) will become a star. If Jupiter were just 80 times more massive then there would be a second star in our sky.

Likewise if Earth were 1 million times more massive it would be a star too, and if you or I would eat hamburgers and doughnuts until we weighed 0.08 times the mass of the Sun, we would also turn into stars.

An object with such a high mass will not have a choice, an option A or option B. ANY object of a certain minimum mass, or higher, will be a star. There is a reason for this. The heavier an object gets, the harder it is to sustain all that weight.

At first it is not so hard. When an object is reasonably small it will grow in size as it eats (as with humans). By the time an object is the size of Jupiter, however, if you add any more material to it then it will start to shrink. This unusual behavior shows that such an object is already beginning to collapse under its own enormous weight.

By the time the magical number of 0.08 solar masses is reached, an object is so heavy, the density is so high, and the pressure and temperature are so high in the core of the object that it is advantageous for hydrogen to fuse into helium to make energy.

So for astronomical objects how much you weigh determines one’s entire identity and lifetime. Let’s all eat sensibly this holiday season!

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Sacred Space Astronomy

The Vatican Observatory’s official digital community and online magazine.

Become a Member

Recent Posts

A tale of an unexpected comet

By Deirdre Kelleghan  |  1 Feb 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Skyward by David Levy – February 2023

By David Levy  |  1 Feb 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Detroit Stories Episode 46: ‘Faith and the Cosmos’ (PODCAST) – Detroit Catholic

By Robert Trembley  |  1 Feb 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

From the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science Pages: Tradition and Today: Religion and Science, in Science in the Context of Human Culture II

By Faith and Science  |  1 Feb 2023

Archives

      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • August
      • June
      • March
      • January
      • November
      • October
      • December
      • November
      • April
      • May
      • January
      • December
      • September
      • May
      • March
      • December
      • November
      • February

More Posts by
Dr. Brenda Frye

A Gift to Us?

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  22 Aug 2020

Getting to Know a Neutron Star: How Heavy Can They Be?

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  9 Jul 2020

The Flying Cell Phone to Alpha Centauri: Part Two

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  21 Jun 2020

The Flying Cell Phone to Alpha Centauri: Part One

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  28 May 2020

No Wine Before Its Time

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  3 Jul 2018

Counting Exercise

By Dr. Brenda Frye  |  26 Jun 2018

View More

Newsletter

Upcoming astronomical events, scientific breakthroughs, philosophical reflections… just a few reasons to subscribe to our newsletter!

  • *
Vatican Observatory
  • About
  • Telescopes
  • Latest
  • Podcast
  • Education
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
Privacy Policy  |   Cookie Policy  |   Disclosure Statement

Podcast:

  • Apple Podcasts Listen onApple Podcasts
  • Spotify Listen onSpotify
  • Google Podcasts Listen onGoogle Podcasts
  • Stitcher Listen onStitcher
  • Amazon Alexa Listen onAmazon Alexa
  • TuneIn Listen onTuneIn
Made by Longbeard