By Carl A. Ten Hoopen

Grover Hayberth recently contacted me to inquire about the eventual implosion of a star designated T-DJT-6141946-45-47. To answer Mr. Hayberth’s question, I turned to Professor Barbara Tenney. Dr. Tenney teaches astronomy at St. Anslem College in Evoraberg, New York. She guided me through the history of T-DJT-6141946-45-47.      

In 2000, a clump of gas and dust was forming in the stellar nursery. The mass drew more attention as it formed, began to spin and heat up in its core in 2012. “We found ourselves wondering, would it become a red giant, a white dwarf, a red dwarf, or a neutron star?” Dr. Tenney said. “As we observed the formation, scientists named it Trump.”

Observers questioned and debated the erratic behavior of what is expected to become a massive, hydrogen-depleted supergiant. Stargazers gathered to peer through the telescope at the Trump mass in the galaxy. “For some it became a religious experience. While others questioned the sequence of Trump’s development,” Dr. Tenney said. Opinions about the Trump star were deeply divided among observers. Intense arguments deepened the divide. “Were our eyes deceiving us? Were we asking the right questions?” Dr. Tenney and others asked.

In 2020, attention was directed to an older star, designated as B-JB-11291942-46 named Biden, by a small but vocal majority. Telescopes continued to focus on the fading Biden star in the galaxy until the Biden star dimly flickered by 2024. The rapidly rotating neutron star emitted bright X-ray hot spots, pulsars. The pulsars came in and out of view, then were gone, to be referred to as the Harris Factor, which dramatically faded with Biden. This took place as the Trumpian mass grew brighter, emitting infrared light.

“We were rather confused by what we were observing,” Dr. Tenney said. “Trump glowed more intensely. Calculations showed it was 13 times the Sun’s weight when newly formed. There was a golden glow to Trump that demanded more of our attention by 2024. Then, unexpectedly, in 2025, we observed something was amiss. The star was beginning to collapse as it became more intense. We knew from previous observations that Trump behaved irrationally. This was the Epstein Factor. What occurred in 2026 surprised us. The star was now less than eight times the Sun’s mass. The hydrogen in its core was depleting. Trump was collapsing at an increased rate. The event had been anticipated for decades. But this appears to be a direct collapse.”

There is high quality data to explain the collapse, but scientists like Dr. Tenney debate the sequence of events that now cause Trump to be 52% to 64% depleted. There is also debate about the final outcomes.

A star of this mass typically explodes as a supernova. However, the evidence indicates that T-DT-6141946-45-47 may not explode successfully due to gravity, gas pressure, and powerful internal shock waves. This is often the case with stars of a similar mass. These suggest an implosion rather than an explosion.

Dr. Tenney believes that if her calculations are correct, the inner core of this star will collapse into a black hole, expelling dust and gas from its outer layer.

Current events are allowing us to watch and learn from the process and demise of an unstable star. In some circles, this process is referred to as the Orbán Effect. Scientists disagree on how long the collapse process will take before the Trump star vanishes.

Carl A. Ten Hoopen is the political, science, and business reporter for the Evoraberg Independent.

Image: “L” Club student at typewriter Source: Lawrence University Archives

Source: JStor https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.29346892