(Corrects the Gagliano reference to lead an author in paragraph 3 instead of co -author)
By Will Dunham
Washington (Reuters) -Stronomes have observed the calamite result of a star that chose the wrong dance partner. They have documented what seems to be a new type of supernova, as there are a known star explosions that happened when a massive star tried to swallow a black hole that has joined in a long Pas de Deux.
The star, which was at least 10 times more massive than our sun, and the black hole that had a similar mass were gravitational bound to one another in what is called a binary system. But as the distance that separates them is gradually narrowing, it seems that the huge gravitational pull of the black hole has distorted the star – standing out from its spherical shape – and tears off material before making it explode.
“We have caught a massive star closed in a fatal tango with a black hole,” said astrophysicist Alexander Galyano of the AI Institute and Fundamental Interactions of the American National Foundation, located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a lead author of the study published this week in the astrophysical journal.
“After shedding the table for years in the spiral of death with the black hole, the massive star met her finish as she blown up. She released more energy for a second than the sun throughout her life,” Galyano added.
The explosion happened at about 700 million light years from Earth. The light year is the remote light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
“The gravitational pulls of the two objects were actually similar because we think they had similar masses. But the star was much larger, so it was in the process of swallowing the black hole when the black hole pulled the material out of it. The star was big but puffy, and the black hole was small.”
Researchers are not sure of the exact mechanism that caused the supernovae.
“It is unclear whether the distortion triggers instability that drives the star’s collapse, and then the residual star material is quickly eaten by the black hole or whether the black hole completely pulls the star before the supernovs come out,” said the astrophysist of Harvard and studied co -author Ashley.
“The star is drawn and transformed from the black hole in complex ways,” Villar added.
The binary system began with two massive stars that tour each other like space satellites. But one of the two stars reached the end of its natural life cycle and exploded in the supernova, and its nucleus collapsed to form a black hole, an extremely thick object with gravity, so strong that even light can escape.
“This event reveals that some supernovae can be triggered by Black Hole satellites, giving us new idea of how some stars end their lives,” Villar said.
Stars that are at least eight times more massive than the sun seem to be destined to end their lives with supernova. Those with the liturgy at least 20 times that of the sun will form a black hole after the explosion.
An artificial intelligence algorithm designed to scan for unusual explosions in space in real time have first discovered the beginning of the explosion, giving a signal that allowed astronomers to make subsequent observations immediately. Until the end of the explosion, it was observed by numerous ground and space telescopes.
“Our AI algorithm allowed us to start a complete observation study early enough to see the really full picture for the first time,” Galyano said.
The observations of the star, dating to four years before the supernova, have revealed bright emissions that astronomers believe are caused when the black hole is sucked by the star. For example, the outer hydrogen layer of the star is torn apart, exposing the helium layer below.
Researchers observe bright emissions in the effects of the explosion as the black hole consumes residual star debris. In the end, the black hole became more massive and powerful.
Systems grouping two or more satellites are quite common. Some of these sets have a black hole as one of the comrades.
“Our absorption is that the fates of the stars are incredibly affected by their companion – or comrades – in life. This event gives us an exciting window on how dramatic black holes can affect the death of massive stars,” Galyano said.
(Reporting by Will Dunham, editing by Rosalba O’Brien)