Posted on 11/20/2018 9:12:23 AM PST by ETL
Full title:
It's one of a pair of stars that could be involved in one of the universe's biggest explosions, experts suggest.
Scientists say the previously unknown star system is wrapped in an "elegant spiral dust cloud", making it look "spectacular".
At its heart is a pair of massive Wolf-Rayet stars, according to an international team of researchers who published the findings in the Nature Astronomy journal.
Wolf-Rayet stars are special in that they're among the hottest in the universe.
They blast out powerful winds of hot gas, and represent the last stage of most massive stars – before "exploding as a supernova".
The star system is believed to be located around 8,000 light years away from Earth.
That's roughly half a billion times farther than our own Sun.
According to scientists, the winds between the two stars form dust.
As the stars orbit each other, this dust takes on "elegant spiral pinwheel shapes".
"It remains a mystery how dust – similar to soot from a candle – forms in such harsh environments," said Professor Paul Crowther, of the University of Sheffield, who was involved in the study.
"But this newly discovered system is the most beautiful case seen to date."
The system was found using the Very Large Telescope in Chile and Anglo-Australia Telescope in Australia.
And it was photographed at the European Southern Observatory in stunning detail.
Experts discovered that the star system is producing "incredibly fast" winds that are 100,000 times quicker than a hurricane on Earth.
This wind speed is typical for a Wolf-Rayet star.
But what's interesting is that researchers found that the dust cloud itself is more slower.
This difference between the speeds of wind and dust is important. It suggests that the stars are "spewing out faster gas" at the poles – and slower gas at the equator.
"One way for such different winds to happen is via critical rotation," said Dr Benjamin Pope, of New York University.
The star system is believed to be located around 8,000 light years away from Earth.
That's roughly half a billion times farther than our own Sun.
According to scientists, the winds between the two stars form dust.
As the stars orbit each other, this dust takes on "elegant spiral pinwheel shapes".
"It remains a mystery how dust – similar to soot from a candle – forms in such harsh environments," said Professor Paul Crowther, of the University of Sheffield, who was involved in the study.
"But this newly discovered system is the most beautiful case seen to date."
The system was found using the Very Large Telescope in Chile and Anglo-Australia Telescope in Australia.
And it was photographed at the European Southern Observatory in stunning detail.
Experts discovered that the star system is producing "incredibly fast" winds that are 100,000 times quicker than a hurricane on Earth.
This wind speed is typical for a Wolf-Rayet star.
But what's interesting is that researchers found that the dust cloud itself is more slower.
This difference between the speeds of wind and dust is important. It suggests that the stars are "spewing out faster gas" at the poles – and slower gas at the equator.
"One way for such different winds to happen is via critical rotation," said Dr Benjamin Pope, of New York University.
at 8000 LIght years away...couldn’t it have happened already?
Dorothy Hamil?........................
Half a Billion times further out than the Sun,
and our scientists here on earth can see it?
Wow. I suppose satelites will send images, as with the pictures from Mars. Even still, it’s quite impressive if they are certain of what is being seen.
The Lindsey Lohan effect
No
Alyssa Milano
Yup. Could have happened 7999 years ago, with the light not reaching us yet.
And since we are seeing the “spiral” of the rotation that means we are are staring down the barrel of a gun if that star goes supernova.....
Michael Moore Stars..................
At least the dust cloud is “more slower.”
“Star spinning so ‘extremely fast’ it risks causing ‘one of the most powerful explosions in the universe’”
Wait.
The universe is infinite.
We can only only observe an infinitesimally small part of it.
So, the title is crap.
I’m unclear how this is contributing to Anthropogenic Climate Change.
Is that more gooder then?
I thought that when one black hole ate another black hole was the most powerful event in the universe.
When will it have already happened so we can watch?
Women, children, minorities hardest hit.
Ahh the Hamil Camel! I remember it well LOL
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