Researchers May Have Solved The Mystery Of Why Some Stars Completely Vanish From The Night Sky Without Any Explanation
In the vast expanse of the universe, stars die every day, so that’s nothing new. But usually, they leave behind clues that tell scientists what was behind their deaths.
Over the years, astronomers have noticed stars suddenly winking out of sight without any explanation.
In 2019, a project called the Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) recorded how many stars vanished from view during the past 70 years and found that around 100 have gone missing.
Stars can either become dim or explode as a supernova before turning into a neutron star or collapsing into a black hole. They generally do not just outright disappear.
When a star that is eight times the size of the sun reaches the end of its life, its core will collapse under its own gravity.
This triggers a powerful explosion that unleashes an enormous amount of energy, briefly lighting up the night sky.
Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have proposed that massive stars can die without a big explosion and turn directly into a black hole.
The team studied VFTS 243, a binary star system at the edge of the Milky Way. It contains a large star and a black hole that orbit one another every 10.4 days.
The researchers looked for signs that the black hole had experienced a supernova explosion in the past, such as “natal kicks.” They did not find evidence of a significant natal kick in the star system.
PiotrKaluza – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
After analyzing remnants from the energy release that occurred during the former star’s core collapse, they discovered that all the signs pointed to a complete collapse. A star going through a total collapse might just disappear without any warning.
“The collapse is so complete that no explosion occurs, nothing escapes, and one wouldn’t see any bright supernova in the night sky,” Alejandro Vigna-Gómez, a co-author of the study, said.
While additional research is needed to be able to officially confirm the accuracy of the findings, the information gathered from analyzing VFTS 243 has brought scientists closer to an explanation that makes sense. It will serve as a basis for future studies on the evolution of stars.
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