astroseismology

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  • Astronomers have found the roundest object in the universe

    by 
    Andrew Tarantola
    Andrew Tarantola
    11.22.2016

    The sun may look round from our viewing angle but it -- like most stars -- aren't as spherical as they seem. It's actually 10 kilometers wider at its equator than it is at its poles. This is due to stars' rate of spin and variances within their magnetic fields. Kepler 11145123, a burning orb just 5,000 light years from Earth, is an extraordinary exception to that rule.