Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010084
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
MINNEAPOLIS - New images of the Milky Way galaxy's most powerful star show it shines with 3 million times as much energy as the sun, erupts like a volcano and looks "like an ant in a tutu."
The star, which is called Eta Carinae and has puzzled astronomers for centuries, is "an honest-to-God mystery," University of Minnesota astronomer Kris Davidson said Tuesday at the national meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
Records more than 300 years old showed that for two centuries it flickered up and down in brightness, and even varied in colors. In 1837, it blew up and became exceptionally bright.
Instead of eventually dimming and collapsing into a neutron star, as do many exploded stars, Eta Carinae continues to shine brilliantly.
- Associated Press
Benefits distribution will be electronic
WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration announced a nationwide system Tuesday to use electronic banking technology to deliver billions of dollars in government benefits.
Vice President Al Gore's plan calls for expanding a system known as Electronic Benefits Transfer from local experiments into a national network that could ultimately deliver $111 billion a year in benefits ranging from welfare to Social Security and military pensions.
- Associated Press
by CNB