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Scientists solve the 16-year-old mystery of the Blue Nebula, discovering that it formed after a sun-like star consumed a smaller stellar companion
- The Blue Nebula was discovered in 2004 and has baffled scientists ever since
- A new study reveals that it is the youngest known example of two stars merging into one
- It formed when a sun-like dying star moved towards a smaller star
- The largest star swallowed its companion and released a cloud of heat debris
- The collision shot hot debris into space that was cut in half by the gas disc
- The result has formed two cones, but one is facing the Earth which appears as a circle
The Blue Nebula has puzzled scientists for more than a decade, but new findings suggest it may be the youngest known example of two stars merging into one.
Astronomers first discovered the mysterious object in 2004, guiding them on a mission to find out what caused a circle of blue light to form around the star, called TYC 2597-735-1.
In a new study, the team suggests that the ring is actually a cone and that bright debris formed after a sun-like star engulfed a smaller stellar companion.
A massive cloud of hot debris fired into space when they merged was cut in two by the gas disc, and since only one of the cones faces Earth, it appears as a central blue ring.
Astronomers first discovered the mysterious object in 2004, guiding them on a mission to find out what caused a circle of blue light to form around the star, called TYC 2597-735-1.
The Blue Nebula was discovered 16 years ago by scientists with NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), who claimed it was “unlike anything seen before in our Milky Way galaxy.”
The images showed a large, faint drop of gas with a star shining brightly in the center.
And although it appears blue in images, it actually emits no light visible to the human eye.
For more than a decade, the team has worked tirelessly to unravel its mystery.
A massive cloud of hot debris fired into space when they merged was cut in two by the gas disc, and since only one of the cones faces Earth, it appears as a central blue ring
Mark Seibert, Carnegie Institution for Science astrophysicist and member of the GALEX team, said: “Whenever we thought we understood this, something would tell us ‘No, that’s not right.’
‘It’s a scary thing as a scientist. But I also love how unique this object is and the effort so many people make to understand it. ‘
In a new study published online Nov.18 in the journal Nature, the team suggests they have finally solved the puzzle.
The nebula was determined to be a relatively recent stellar merger, barely a few thousand years old, of a star the size of our Sun and another that had a mass about 100 times that of Jupiter.
When the sun-like star was dying, it began to swell, pushed it towards the smaller stellar object and eventually swallowed it.
Although the result of this violent event ended in two cones, there is an area where they overlap that appears as a circle when viewed from Earth.
The light was produced after the collision, which excited the hydrogen molecules, causing them to radiate with ultraviolet light and over time the glow became bright enough to be seen by GALEX (pictured is the star Mira, which passed through the same process)
The light was produced after the collision, which excited the hydrogen molecules, causing them to radiate with ultraviolet light, and over time the glow became bright enough for GALEX to see.
Study lead author Keri Hoadley, of David and Ellen Lee Postdoctoral Scholar in Physics at Caltech, said: “ The merging of two stars is quite common, but they are quickly obscured by a lot of dust as the ejection from them expands. and it means that we cannot see what really happened. “
“We believe this object represents an advanced stage of these transient events, when the dust finally clears and we have a good view.
‘But we also understood the process before it was too long; after time, the nebula will dissolve into the interstellar medium and we would not be able to tell that anything happened. ‘
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