He studied Alpha Ursa Major, the brightest star in the Big Dipper. He found it's over four times the mass of our sun and is about 120 million years old. And expanding rapidly. It's actually on its way to becoming a giant. It's just starting to enlarge.
Many satellites use so-called spotting scopes to aim at the stars and keep the satellite positioned.
Astronomers now wonder if more of those same scopes could serve a dual purpose, sending back scientific data as well. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines .