https://sputnikglobe.com/20231019/officials-detect-giant-zombie-star-on-the-run-1114305013.html
Officials Detect Giant 'Zombie' Star on the Run
Officials Detect Giant 'Zombie' Star on the Run
Sputnik International
The star is moving as fast as 22,000 miles per hour when compared to the Hyades star cluster from which it has escaped. But instead of being alarmed by this runway star, scientists see it as an exciting opportunity.
2023-10-19T02:45+0000
2023-10-19T02:45+0000
2023-10-19T02:45+0000
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It turns out Earth is not the only sphere in our galaxy preparing for Halloween. The second-closest star cluster to Earth, the Hyades star cluster, is just 153 light-years away from our planet and makes up the head of the Bull in the Taurus constellation. From this cluster, a “zombie” star has awoken and is now bursting its way out of the Hyades star cluster.The zombie star is moving as fast as 22,000 miles per hour (10 kilometers per second) when compared to the Hyades star cluster from which it escaped. But instead of being alarmed by this runway star, scientists see it as an exciting opportunity that will help their unanswered questions surrounding the Hyades star cluster.The Hyades star cluster is made up of several hundreds of stars, all formed around the same time—about 625 million years ago. But, the cluster only contains a few white dwarfs at its core. This is strange, considering 97% of stars in the Milky Way will experience their final stage in life as a white dwarf.Astronomers have wondered what happens to these missing stars. One theory is they are launched out of the cluster due to interactions with other star clusters, as well as, possibly, gas clouds moving between the clusters. The stars in this particular constellation are also loosely bound, so it would be easy for them to be ejected through these interactions.In order to test the theory, researchers from the University of British Columbia used data the Gaia spacecraft collected after it tracked over 1 billion stars in the Milky Way since 2013.Officials found three white dwarfs they believe were ejected from the Hyades cluster, one of which was 1.3 times more massive than the sun. Most white dwarfs have a mass that is 0.6 times that of the sun, and are formed from stars that have run out of hydrogen fuel in their cores. In most cases, the celestial bodies are created once they pull material from a companion star.However, the runaway white dwarf the astronomers were able to track down appears to have been created from just one star, which could mean it is the largest white dwarf created from a single star that has been discovered thus far."The combination of the unremarkable nature of the Hyades cluster and the benefits of its proximity suggest that open star clusters may be producing ultramassive white dwarfs, including white dwarfs which push the Chandrasekhar limit, more commonly than previously thought."
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231018/nasa-captures-jaw-dropping-image-of-jupiters-fire--ice-moon-io-1114275566.html
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science, astronomy, stars, space, space exploration, white dwarf, zombie star, hyades star cluster
science, astronomy, stars, space, space exploration, white dwarf, zombie star, hyades star cluster
Officials Detect Giant 'Zombie' Star on the Run
A zombie star forms when a star explodes during a supernova process, but is not completely obliterated, leaving behind the remnant star.
It turns out Earth is not the only sphere in our galaxy preparing for Halloween.
The second-closest star cluster to Earth, the
Hyades star cluster, is just 153 light-years away from our planet and makes up the head of the Bull in the Taurus constellation. From this cluster, a “zombie” star has awoken and is now bursting its way out of the Hyades star cluster.
The zombie star is moving as fast as 22,000 miles per hour (10 kilometers per second) when compared to the Hyades star cluster from which it escaped. But instead of being alarmed by this runway star, scientists see it as an exciting opportunity that will help their unanswered questions surrounding the Hyades star cluster.
The Hyades star cluster is made up of several hundreds of stars, all formed around the same time—about 625 million years ago. But, the cluster only contains a few white dwarfs at its core. This is strange, considering 97% of stars in the Milky Way will experience their final stage in life as a white dwarf.
Astronomers have wondered what happens to these missing stars. One theory is they are launched out of the cluster due to interactions with other star clusters, as well as, possibly, gas clouds moving between the clusters. The stars in this particular constellation are also loosely bound, so it would be easy for them to be ejected through these interactions.
In order to test the theory, researchers from the University of British Columbia used data the Gaia spacecraft collected after it tracked over 1 billion stars in the Milky Way since 2013.
18 October 2023, 03:50 GMT
Officials found three white dwarfs they believe were ejected from the Hyades cluster, one of which was 1.3 times more massive than the sun. Most white dwarfs have a mass that is 0.6 times that of the sun, and are formed from stars that have run out of hydrogen fuel in their cores. In most cases, the celestial bodies are created once they pull material from a companion star.
However, the runaway white dwarf the astronomers were able to track down appears to have been created from just one star, which could mean it is the largest white dwarf created from a single star that has been discovered thus far.
"This provides a critical observational benchmark for white dwarfs created from single progenitor stars, demonstrating that single stars can produce white dwarfs with masses close to the Chandrasekhar limit," the team wrote.
"The combination of the unremarkable nature of the Hyades cluster and the benefits of its proximity suggest that open star clusters may be producing ultramassive white dwarfs, including white dwarfs which push the Chandrasekhar limit, more commonly than previously thought."
