Word: progenitor
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...speculate that 1987A "may have had an antecedent star that was not that massive, as supernovas go." By comparing the supernova's position with older photographs of the Large Magellanic Cloud, many astronomers at first identified a hot blue supergiant star, called SK-69 202, as the probable progenitor of 1987A. But that conclusion troubled everyone; theory holds that a star with these characteristics is too young to expire in a final explosion. Two weeks ago, as the initial ultraviolet radiation from the blast began to die down, the astronomers breathed a collective sigh of relief: ultraviolet scans indicated that...
...chance that they might finally be able to pinpoint a specific progenitor star, which could finally confirm or recast their theories about how supernovas explode, has astronomers beside themselves with excitement. "It's like Christmas," says Woosley. "We've been waiting for this for 383 years." Agrees Kirshner: "Everyone in the field has been calling each other up, partly for scientific reasons and partly for sheer pleasure. It's like when someone has a baby -- it's a great event, and you just want to talk...
...Bentley's screen debut ("He did well enough") are, to say the least, laconic. Christopher has played supporting roles in a few movies. Bentley is supposed to enroll at USC this fall, but ever since the filming, he has been interviewing for other acting jobs. Does that please his progenitor? Says the top-billed Mitchum: "I'm glad to see he's making an honest living...
Mother and son live in a pagoda beach house called the Savannah Cabana, a sales model bought from a failed real estate developer who threw in a shack for Theenie, the family maid. The boy's private name for his father is the Progenitor, an impersonal though not inappropriate designation. Simons' parents are divorced; on visits, the Progenitor tries to exchange his son's mullet pole for a baseball bat and tempt him with the upscale life. But every paternal gesture meets with failure or misunderstanding. His sex lecture about contraception, for example, leaves Simons with...
...progenitor of all this filmic frenzy is a boyishly easygoing New England native who sets to work each morning to the accompaniment of blaring rock music...