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More than three centuries after detecting a massive collision between two stars, an international team of astronomers discovered that the remnant of the event, a brilliant nova, is surrounded by a radioactive molecule extremely rare
. The 26-aluminum or 26AIF monofluoride, unstable radio-isotope carrier of aluminum (26AI) and is the first of its kind to be observed directly in space.
"The first solid detection of this kind of radioactive molecule is an important step in Tomasz Kamiński, lead researcher at the origin of the discovery, said in a statement
that scientists have long known the presence of this molecule in the universe. "Previous studies had posited that our Milky Way itself harbored three solar masses of 26 IA, but there was no direct evidence of its presence before the international group used Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array and Northern Extended Millimeter Array to study the remains of this fusion.
Discovered for the first time in 1670, the fusion appears as a bright red nova about 2,300 light years from Earth. It was visible to the nudes for a few years, but eventually disappeared in the darkness of the cosmos. Today, only sophisticated telescopes can see the rest of the stellar collision, which is now called CK Vulpeculae or CK Vul.
CK Vul, as the researchers have described, currently resembles an obscure central star surrounded by a halo of fluid matter. . These debris host a range of molecules, including radioactive molecules detected by the team.
For years, scientists have discovered that molecules in space can be detected by the unique spectral signature of millimeter – wavelength light that they emit. In this case, the team determined the characteristic fingerprint of 26AIF molecules and used this information to identify the radioactive material around CK Vul.
The discovery provided a critical overview of the stellar melting and helped the team assert that both stars were too heavy. One, as they said, is likely to be a red giant weighing up to 1 to 2.5 suns.
More importantly, the work also showed that the deep inner layers of a sun-like star, where radioactive isotopes are believed to have formed, can be projected into space as a result of collisions stellar like the one observed in the space.
"We observe the intestines of a star torn three centuries ago by a collision," Kamiński added. "It's cool, that?"
That said, it is worth noting that the team believes that stellar collisions such as this one are not the only source of the 26AI mass value of the Milky Way. These events are extremely rare and the amount of radioactive molecule noted in CK Vul – nearly a quarter of Pluto's mass – clearly suggests that there are more, waiting to be discovered. However, as the telescopes involved in this work can only detect 26Al with fluoride, they also pointed out the possibility that the amount of radioactive version of aluminum could be much larger than it is currently thought .
The study entitled "Astronomical Detection of the Radioactive Molecule 26AlF in the Remainder of an Old Explosion", was published on July 30 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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Tags colliding molecule radioactive remains spotted stars
