Researchers recently shed light on a strange star moving at more than 3 million km/h on a path that ejects it from our galaxy. How do we explain such behavior?
A star spins at full speed!
A particular star is located about 2,000 light-years from Earth. LP 40-365, its name, is one of a unique breed of lightning-fast moving objects. This star is moving at a speed of about three million kilometers per hour., says JJ Hermes, of the Boston University School of Arts and Sciences. So much so that one day she will leave the galaxy. Why such a rush to leave? Think of this object as a piece of shrapnel that survived the explosion of a supernova star. Details of this work have been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
A supernova is essentially a dying star. There are two main mechanisms that can produce this type of cosmic event. First results from The implosion of a massive star, while the second result of Thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf It started by picking up material spilled by a nearby companion. This last operation involves two objects nested in a binary system. LP 40−365 was once combined with one of these systems.
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Drawing on data from the Hubble telescope and exoplanet hunter TESS, Professor Hermes and his team also discovered that the star orbits every nine hours as it zips toward the galaxy’s outer layers. It is clear that the reason for its rotation is the explosion.
Determining its (relatively slow) rotation rate can give clues about the system from which the star originated.
As mentioned earlier, one type of supernova involves the explosion of a white dwarf after it has used up a lot of material thrown out by a companion star. Since the two stars here were orbiting each other very quickly and in close proximity, the explosion of the first star “fed” by the second star would then tear off a piece of the latter – LP 40-365 – pushing it out. from Hungary.
Finally, note that if LP 40−365 is indeed moving very fast in the galaxy, other objects do more. A few months ago, astronomers discovered a star moving at a speed of more than six million km / h. In question: a A close encounter with the supermassive black hole of our galaxy.
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