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Astronomers have observed a young star swallowing a planet or two in its rotating disk. The star belongs to the Taurus-Auriga constellation and is only 450 light-years away from Earth. (19459013) NASA / CXC / M.Weiss )
For the first time in the history of astronomy, experts have sighted a not-so-distant star consuming at least one planetary body.
Using X-ray observations conducted at NASA's Chandra X-Ray observatory, an international team of scientists led by astrophysicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made the first observations of a star swallowing two rotting planets before falling into the young rotating disc of the star
Young Star Dimming Periodically
Four hundred and fifty light-years from Earth is a curious star who has baffled astronomers for 80 years. The young star, named RW Aur A, is in the constellation Taurus-Auriga, a particular group of stars sprinkled with a variability of newborn stars
RW Aur was part of A binary system, which means that it surrounds another star, RW Aur B. Both stars are about as heavy as the Sun.
Since it was discovered in 1937, RW Aur A has steadily dimmed for a month before becoming brilliant again. In recent years, the star has been observed darkening more frequently and for longer periods.
In 2011, for example, the star lost some of its luster for half a year. This was followed by another dimming instance that took place in mid-2014 until November 2016. In January of last year, the star dropped again, allowing the Chandra team to collect radiographic evidence that can help explain periodic episodes of gradation. 19659004] Two planets crashed and fell
In a new study published in the Astronomical Journal the team of astrophysicists indicates that the graduation of RW Aur A may be caused by two planets crush one into the other and then fall into the star. The team also includes experts from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and other researchers from Belgium and Germany.
The collision probably created a thick cloud of dust and gas that temporarily blocked the star's light. While the wreckage of the cosmic crash fell into the star disk, it produced the dust and gas cover that caused the obscuration.
Hans Moritz Guenther, senior researcher at the Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT, says computer models have long predicted that young stars may devour planetary formations, although direct observations have never been done.
"If our interpretation of the data is correct, it would be the first time we would directly observe a young star devouring a planet or planets," says Guenther.
Researchers say it could also explain previous episodes If two planets or the remains of past collisions crumble into each other, it would create debris that could eventually be fired on rogue orbits.
This would make even more possible for a planet or the remains of an accident to fall in the The planetary disk of the star
How gradation occurs
After analyzing 14 hours of X-ray data collected by Chandra , the researchers found that the star contains much more iron than is typical of its kind.This prompted researchers to ask: where does all the iron come from?
There are twoPossible explanations First, there could be a dust pressure trap, which is like a dead zone where small particles are collected in the disk around the star. If RW Aur B approaches RW Aur A, the gravitational forces of the two stars could release the trapped particles, causing the excess iron to fall into the star.
The second, more plausible explanation for the researchers, is that two planets collided, creating a thick cloud of particles. If one or two of these planets had a lot of iron, the collision would create a rich iron cloud that would then be consumed by the star's disc. It is also the same cloud that obscures the light of the star.
The researchers have not yet confirmed this hypothesis. If future observations show that the iron content in the star remains high after a year, it is very likely that the iron was generated by a collision of planets that were then swallowed by the star.
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