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The Chandra X-ray Observatory of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made some observations. These notes indicate that, for the first time, boffins have seen a young star devour a young planet or planets.
Hans Moritz Guenther, Principal Investigator of the Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research of the Mbadachusetts Institute of Technology, spoke of Simulations and Interpretations
Computer simulations have long predicted that the planets may fall into a young star, but we have never observed it before. If our interpretation of the data is correct, it would be the first time that we directly observe a young star devouring a planet or planets.
– Guenther says
PARENTAL STAR AND INFANT PLANETS
According to the study published in the Astronomical Journal, the parent star which is about 450 light-years away of Earth, is devouring the planetary debris resulting from the collision of infantile planetary bodies
. the survival of infantile planets.
Since 1937, astronomers question the curious variability of the young star named RW Aur A.
The illustration of an artist depicts the destruction of a young planet or planets | Credits: Illustration: NASA / CXC / M Weiss; X-ray Spectrum: NASA / CXC / MIT / H M Gunther
Every few tens of years, the optical light of the star faded briefly before becoming luminous again. In recent years, astronomers have observed the gradation of the star more frequently, and for longer periods.
Chandra was used to observe the star during an optically brilliant period in 2013, then decreased the periods in 2015 and 2017
The new study could explain what caused the gradation event the most recent of the star – a collision of two infantile planetary bodies, including at least one object large enough to be a planet.
fallen into the star, it would produce a thick veil of dust and gas, temporarily obscuring the light of the star.
Many efforts are currently devoted to the study of exoplanets and their formation. It is therefore very important to see how young planets could be destroyed in interactions with their host stars and other young planets, and what factors determine if they survive.
– Guenther said
The star's previous gradation events could be brought about by similar disbademblies, ie his two planetary bodies or large remains of past collisions that met head-on and separated again.
Scientists hope to make more observations of the star in the future, to see if the amount of iron that surrounds it has changed – a measure that could help researchers determine the size of the the source of iron. For example, if about the same amount of iron appears in a year or two, it may indicate that it comes from a relatively mbadive source.
WATCH | A quick look at RW Aur A
(With contributions from NASA)
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