Astronomers found a huge and expanded gas bubble and dust that surrounds the red reddish star-a very large structure of the type that has ever been visible in the Milky Way.
She surrounds the very similar Star Betlegeze DFK 52, which was observed using the Alma radio telescope in Chile. This was reported on the Service of the press service of the Technical University of Chalmers (Sweden).
The bubble, consisting of clouds of gas and dust, weighs as much as the sun, and extends 1.4 lights from the star – it is thousands of times more than our solar system.
This star is located in 19,000 light years from the ground. If it were so close to us as Betelghez (430 light years), the bubble would take the third width of the full moon in the sky.
We were very surprised when we saw that Alma showed us. This star is almost double Betelgez, but it is surrounded by a huge chaotic bubble of substance, ”the researchers said.
It is believed that the bubble was formed as a result of a mysterious explosion of stars about 4 thousand years ago. Why the star survived after such a powerful event is a mystery.
Alma -radio receiver allowed astronomers to measure molecules in the cloud, finding that the bubble expands. They believe that this was formed when the star suddenly abandoned some of their outer layers as a result of a strong explosion just a few thousand years ago.
Why DFK 52 lost so many mass without an explosion, since supernova is still unclear. One of the possible reasons may be that the star has a hidden companion that helped her throw out the outer layers.
For us, this remains a mystery, since the star was able to quit so much material in such a short period of time. Perhaps, as in the case of Betelgez, she has a satellite that should still open, ”the researchers say.
Red superhiants, such as DFK 52, are approaching the end of their life and, as expected, ultimately explodes as a supernova.
We plan to accept more observations in order to understand what is happening and find out whether this can be the next supernova in the Milky Way. If this is a typical red super gigant, it can explode somewhere in the next millions of years, ”the scientists add.
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Source: Racurs
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