Stars that get close to core orbits of black holes can get shot back across the galaxy at high velocity.
A new paper by Dartmouth Physics and Astronomy Professor Gary Wegner that will appear in "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society" hypothesizes that planets are orbiting these hypervelocity stars (HST) and can get carried along with them. Some of those orbiting planets can spin off on their own and get hurtled across the universe at 30 million miles per hour.
Also on the program, VPR’s Bob Kinzel provides an update and analysis on budget talks and other legislative issues in Montpelier.
Plus, we go north for a poutine-eating contest held in a Dunham, Quebec pub.
And we hear from pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn, the son of Nobel Prize-winning writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Ignat will perform a piano recital Friday in Chester to benefit the rebuilding of baseball fields in Cavendish that were destroyed by Tropical Story Irene. Click here to listen to a complete interview of Ignat Solzhenitsyn conducted by VPR Classical’s Walter Parker.