Dead Star Explosion
A so-called symbiotic nova was the source of fluctuating gamma radiation found way back in 2010. But a whole array of radiotelescopes were needed to figure what was the source.
- Be also sure to check out my other posts and follow me @kralizec and subscribe to my Youtube channel at Kralizec Gaming Youtube Channel
An international team of astronomers managed to achieve an incredible feat. They managed to discover the identity of the source of fluctuating gamma radiation which was discovered in 2010 by the American space gamma telescope Fermi.
The researchers used a technology called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) which works thanks to combining the observation of many different radiotelescopes. This creates sort of a virtual radio telescope which is much large than the individual radiotelescopes inside the array.
Italian astronomer Marcello Giroletti from the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and his coworkers found that the source is a so-called symbiotic nova. A very strange and very rare stellar system which is known as V407 Cygni.
What are symbiotic novas?
Symbiotic novas are essentially explosions that occur inside a system made up of two very close stars. But each of them must be very different. The first is a pulsating red giant – a star at the very edge of its life. The other is a white dwarf – the remains of a death star or what remains after another red giant dies.
The red giant star ejects enormous amounts of material and its tiny partner collects the material. After a certain amount of time, thermonuclear fusion starts on the surface of the white dwarf. This fires of a gigantic and bright explosion – a symbiotic nova. But both the stars survive this.
So far, we did not know that systems such as V407 Cygni fire off high-energy radiation. This makes this discovery a breakthrough as it introduces us to a whole new class of gamma radiation in the Universe.
The images of this particular stellar system are to this date the most detailed images that show us the results of this enormous symbiotic nova explosion. We can see the shockwaves as they expand into the atmosphere of the red giant. The researchers even managed to find evidence of previous such explosions – one from 2003 and another one from the 1930ies.
Sources:
- If you like the content I’m producing about science maybe you will like the content I produce about gaming as well! Be sure to check out my other posts!