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In a first, scientists were able to observe the destruction of a young planet (or planets) around a nearby star. Observations from NASA's Chandra Observatory indicate that the young star is devouring the debris of the planet.
A Young Star Devours a Planet
Hans Moritz Guenther, Principal Investigator of the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics of the Mbadachusetts Institute of Technology and Space Research said:
"Computer simulations have long predicted that planets may fall into a young star, but we have never seen it before. "
Since 1937, astronomers have been questioning the curious variability of a young star named RW Aur A, located about 450 light-years from Earth. Every few dozen years, the optical light of the star faded briefly before becoming luminous again. In recent years, astronomers have observed the gradation of stars more frequently and for longer periods.
Using Chandra, a team of scientists was able to discover what caused the most recent star gradation event: at least one object large enough to be a planet. As the resultant planetary debris fell into the star, it would produce a thick veil of dust and gas, temporarily obscuring the light of the star.
Guenther says:
"If our interpretation of the data is correct, it would be the first time we directly observe a young star devouring a planet or planets."
RW Aur A: the young star in action
As already mentioned, the young star is located 450 light-years from Earth. It is located in the Taurus-Auriga Dark Clouds, which are home to stellar nurseries containing thousands of infantile stars.
Very young stars, unlike our relatively mature sun, are still surrounded by a disc of gas and lumps of varying size. small grains of dust with pebbles, and perhaps nascent planets. These records last about 5 million to 10 million years
RW Aur A is estimated to be several million years old and is still surrounded by a disk of dust and gas. This star and its binary companion star, RW Aur B, are about the same mbad as the sun.
Chandra observes the star through X-rays
Chandra observed the star by doing what had never been observed before. – devour a planet. This discovery provides insight into the processes that affect the survival of the infant's planets.
After a few decades, the optical light of the star is blurred briefly before brightening again. In recent years, astronomers have observed the gradation of the star more frequently and for longer periods.
The new study could explain what caused the most recent event of the star: collision of two infantile planetary bodies. As the resulting planetary debris fell into the star, they produced a thick veil of dust and gas, temporarily obscuring the light of the star.
Previous star dimming events may have been caused by a similar smash. of two planetary bodies or large remains of past collisions which met abad and separated again
"Many efforts are currently devoted to the study of exoplanets and their formation, he So it's very important to see how Young Planets could be destroyed in their interactions with their host stars and other young planets, and what factors determine whether they survive, "said Guenther
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