Scientists have directly observed this radiation pressure in action using infrared observations.
The Webb telescope captured a picture of two rare stars orbiting each other in a wild nod. The binary object is called WR 140. It is surrounded by a series of dust shells that are slowly pushed into space not only by the stellar wind of charged particles, but also by the glow of radiation emitted by the stars themselves, writes Science Alert.
“It’s hard to see how starlight causes acceleration because that force weakens with distance, and other forces quickly take over,” said astronomer Yinguo Han of the University of Cambridge.
It is noted that in order to see the acceleration at a level where it can be measured, the material must be close enough to the star or the radiation pressure source must be very strong. these to the best of our highly accurate data.
WR 140 is 5,600 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus and is a rarity among rarity. It is what is known as a colliding wind binary, consisting of an extremely rare Wolf-Rayet star and a blue O-type supergiant companion, another rare object.
“When I look at the data now, I see the WR140 plume unfolding like a giant sail of dust. As it catches the photon wind from the star, like a yacht catching a gust of wind, it suddenly rushes, ” Han added.
Recall that James Webb first took a picture of the Wolf-Ryet star, which is located at a distance of about 5600 light-years from us.
The James Webb telescope takes the first direct image of an alien world
News from Correspondent.net on Telegram. Subscribe to our channel Athletistic
Source: korrespondent
