Rare cataclysmic exploding star spotted by citizen scientists
Within six months, Kilonova Seekers' over 2,000 volunteers contributed more than 600,000 classifications to researchers, resulting in a total of 20 new discoveries. Now, astronomers have announced the project's first major published find in Astronomy & Astrophysics: a brilliant exploding star observed in near real-time. Now known as GOTO0650, astronomers have determined the cosmic body is a cataclysmic variable star—one whose brightness increased by 2,500 times in just two days.
A cataclysmic variable star isn't technically a single object. Instead, it's a compact binary system composed of a white dwarf stealing matter from a nearby donor star. Occasionally, that matter reaches a critical temperature and density inside the gas disc encircling the white dwarf, resulting in a blinding burst of light and energy.
According to Kilonova Seekers Project co-lead and University of Warwick astronomer Tom Killestein, the discovery could easily have been missed among the many other night sky objects without the citizen scientists' help.
'Remarkably, public volunteers identified this star as an object of interest within 3.5 hours of the image being taken by the GOTO telescopes,' Killestein explained in a statement, adding that the involvement from volunteers 'didn't stop there.'
'There was a huge follow-up response from the public,' he continued. 'It was flagged for further observations from the Swift and Einstein Probe space observatories, and GOTO0650 was bright enough for amateur astronomers to take impressively high-quality observations of with their own equipment, which formed a key part of the paper and really [helped] us understand the object.'
Thanks to the quick response from volunteers, astronomers had enough time to collect a notably complete dataset on the star that included X-ray, UV, and spectroscopy measurements along with visual observations from amateur astronomers. From these, it appears that GOTO0650 is what's known as a 'period bouncer,' a rarely spotted cataclysmic variable star in its final state.
GOTO0650 is an exciting find for professional space observers, but for everyday Kilonova Seekers like Svetoslav Alexandrov in Bulgaria, it's something else entirely.
'Traffic in Sofia, Bulgaria, is always awful during the mornings so I have to pass time on the bus somehow, and contributing to citizen science is an excellent way to do that,' he said, adding that he 'literally screamed with joy' when he learned that his idle star searching would lead to a research paper co-authorship.
'I'm certain that people on the street raised their eyebrows when they saw me screaming and dancing, but I didn't care,' said Alexandrov. 'I knew I am a co-discoverer of something significant, and this was all that mattered.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2 'new stars' have exploded into the night sky in recent weeks — and both are visible to the naked eye
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A second "new star" has unexpectedly appeared in the night sky, less than two weeks after a near-identical point of light first burst into view without warning. These never-before-seen "stars" are made of light coming from rare stellar explosions known as classical novas. Scientists believe this may be the first time in recorded history that more than one of these luminous outbursts have been visible with the naked eye at the same time. The first nova, dubbed V462 Lupi, was initially spotted June 12 shining in the Lupus constellation, after its progenitor star suddenly became more than 3 million times brighter than normal. Then, on June 25, multiple astronomers detected another nova, dubbed V572 Velorum, within the Vela constellation, according to Astronomers normally expect to see a classical nova once a year at most, and more than one of these explosions shining simultaneously is almost unheard of. "This is without question an extremely rare event, if not an historical one," Stephen O'Meara, an astronomer and author who has been scouring historical records for similar examples, told "I have yet to find an occurrence of two simultaneous nova appearing at the same time." The last time we came close to simultaneous novas visible to the naked eye was in 1936, when V630 Sgr and V368 Aql were spotted within a few weeks of one another, O'Meara added. However, "they were not at maximum brightness at the same time." Related: Nearly 900 years ago, astronomers spotted a strange, bright light in the sky. We finally know what caused it. V462 Lupi's brightness peaked on June 20, when it reached an apparent magnitude of +5.5. The star has since dimmed slightly but remains above the +6 magnitude threshold for naked eye visibility. V572 Velorum is even brighter, peaking at +4.8 on June 27. (A smaller magnitude signifies a brighter object; for example, the moon has an apparent magnitude of -12.7.) Astrophotographer Eliot Herman snapped the novas using a remotely operated camera in Chile (see above). V572 Velorum, which was photographed on June 27, shines with brilliant blue-white light, while V462 Lupi has a purple hue in an image captured on June 26. Novas gradually turn red before disappearing because the longer blue-colored wavelengths of light fade from view first. Both the Lupus and Vela constellations are in the southern sky, making the new novas easier to spot from the Southern Hemisphere. However, V462 Lupi can be seen from North America, just after sunset and close to the southern horizon. Vela can sometimes be seen from the southern parts of North America, including Mexico, California and Texas, meaning some people in these regions could spot V572 Velorum for themselves. But it is much less likely. The objects are technically bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. However, they will be easier to spot if you have a decent telescope or a pair of stargazing binoculars, especially if you are viewing them from the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike supernovas, which are so powerful that they completely rip stars apart, a nova only affects the outer layers of a star. Classical novas, such as V462 Lupi and V572 Velorum, occur in a specific type of binary system, where a more massive white dwarf star is pulling material away from its larger partner. When enough material has been accreted onto the dwarf star's surface, the pressure builds up and triggers an explosion that burns up most of the stolen gas and shoots pulses of bright light into space, which can sometimes be seen from Earth. RELATED STORIES —Supernova that lit up Earth's skies 843 years ago has a flowering 'zombie star' at its heart — and it's still exploding —Mystery explosion 1,000 years ago may be a rare, third type of supernova —Rare quadruple supernova on our 'cosmic doorstep' will shine brighter than the moon when it blows up in 23 billion years Some novas are recurring events, blowing their top at regular intervals: For example, the long-awaited T Coronae Borealis nova, also known as the "Blaze Star," lights up our skies roughly every 80 years. However, astronomers have been predicting that the Blaze Star will reappear imminently for the last 15 months, and it is yet to emerge, which shows that it is not an exact science. As this is the first recorded appearance of V462 Lupi and V572 Velorum, it's not known if or when they will explode again in the future. Both of them will likely fade from view in the coming weeks.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jupiter news, features and articles
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Jupiter is so large that it's known as the king of planets. At Live Science, we bask in its gassy glory by publishing facts and findings about the giant, including coverage of how Jupiter's unearthly beauty was revealed in a gorgeous true-color image, how scientists found remains of cannibalized baby planets in Jupiter's cloud-covered belly and how the mystery of Jupiter's powerful X-ray auroras was finally solved. So, if you want to learn more about our solar system's largest planet, check out the latest Jupiter news, features and articles by our expert writers and editors. —Jupiter: Facts about the biggest planet in our solar system —Could a spaceship fly through a gas giant like Jupiter?
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rare cataclysmic exploding star spotted by citizen scientists
Two years ago, a team of astronomers requested help from citizen scientists around the world for the Kilonova Seekers Project. Launched in July 2023, the endeavor tasks volunteers with parsing through all-sky survey images captured daily by telescopes on opposite sides of the planet known as the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO). Within six months, Kilonova Seekers' over 2,000 volunteers contributed more than 600,000 classifications to researchers, resulting in a total of 20 new discoveries. Now, astronomers have announced the project's first major published find in Astronomy & Astrophysics: a brilliant exploding star observed in near real-time. Now known as GOTO0650, astronomers have determined the cosmic body is a cataclysmic variable star—one whose brightness increased by 2,500 times in just two days. A cataclysmic variable star isn't technically a single object. Instead, it's a compact binary system composed of a white dwarf stealing matter from a nearby donor star. Occasionally, that matter reaches a critical temperature and density inside the gas disc encircling the white dwarf, resulting in a blinding burst of light and energy. According to Kilonova Seekers Project co-lead and University of Warwick astronomer Tom Killestein, the discovery could easily have been missed among the many other night sky objects without the citizen scientists' help. 'Remarkably, public volunteers identified this star as an object of interest within 3.5 hours of the image being taken by the GOTO telescopes,' Killestein explained in a statement, adding that the involvement from volunteers 'didn't stop there.' 'There was a huge follow-up response from the public,' he continued. 'It was flagged for further observations from the Swift and Einstein Probe space observatories, and GOTO0650 was bright enough for amateur astronomers to take impressively high-quality observations of with their own equipment, which formed a key part of the paper and really [helped] us understand the object.' Thanks to the quick response from volunteers, astronomers had enough time to collect a notably complete dataset on the star that included X-ray, UV, and spectroscopy measurements along with visual observations from amateur astronomers. From these, it appears that GOTO0650 is what's known as a 'period bouncer,' a rarely spotted cataclysmic variable star in its final state. GOTO0650 is an exciting find for professional space observers, but for everyday Kilonova Seekers like Svetoslav Alexandrov in Bulgaria, it's something else entirely. 'Traffic in Sofia, Bulgaria, is always awful during the mornings so I have to pass time on the bus somehow, and contributing to citizen science is an excellent way to do that,' he said, adding that he 'literally screamed with joy' when he learned that his idle star searching would lead to a research paper co-authorship. 'I'm certain that people on the street raised their eyebrows when they saw me screaming and dancing, but I didn't care,' said Alexandrov. 'I knew I am a co-discoverer of something significant, and this was all that mattered.'
