Latest news with #PublicationsoftheAstronomicalSocietyofAustralia
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers spy puzzlingly 'perfect' cosmic orb with unknown size and location
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have discovered the eerie remains of a supernova with an almost perfect spherical shape glowing faintly on the outskirts of the Milky Way. However, they are unsure exactly how large and how far away the ghostly orb is — or how it got its unusually symmetrical shape. The scientists named the object G305.4–2.2, or Telios — Greek for "perfect." Telios was spotted in radio images captured by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope in Western Australia for the Evolutionary Map of the Universe project. It is a supernova remnant (SNR) — an expanding cloud of gas and radiation left over from an exploded star. Most SNRs are at least vaguely spherical due to how supernovas explode outward in all directions, although some have more unorthodox shapes, as they dissipate over time or get bent out of shape by other explosions or stellar winds. However, it is rare to find remnants that appear to have almost no imperfections. The researchers described the SNR in a new study, uploaded May 7 to the pre-print server arXiv and accepted for future publication in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. "This object [Telios] displays a remarkable circular symmetry in shape, making it one of the most circular galactic SNRs known," the researchers wrote in the paper. Related: Rare quadruple supernova on our 'cosmic doorstep' will shine brighter than the moon when it blows up in 23 billion years Telios is also unusual for its extremely low brightness compared with most other SNRs, which suggests that it is either really young or really old. Based on its perfect shape, it is most likely to be the former because most SNRs lose their shape as they age, the researchers wrote. The low brightness makes it hard to determine Telios' distance from Earth, which also raises uncertainty about its size. The researchers believe it could be anywhere from 7,170 to 25,100 light-years from our planet, meaning it could span anywhere from 45.6 to 156.5 light-years across — dozens of times larger than our solar system. The object is located below the galactic plane — the disk of matter swirling around the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, where most objects in the galaxy, including the solar system, are situated. Its unusual location adds to the uncertainty about its distance and size. But despite being outside the galactic plane, Telios is still part of the Milky Way. Orb-like SNRs are very rare. However, a handful have been discovered before in dwarf galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. These include SN1987A and MC SNR J0509–673, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC); and SNR J0624–6948, which was discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) earlier this year. 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 —Strange 'reverse shock wave' supernova is exploding in the wrong direction —Scientists find evidence of 'supernova graveyard' at the bottom of the sea — and possibly on the surface of the moon There are two ways in which these perfect SNRs form: via a core-collapse supernova, where massive red giant stars implode, generating a shockwave that in turn pushes its matter outward; or via a Type Ia supernova, where smaller stars explode in much more violent explosions, which astronomers use to study some of cosmology's biggest mysteries. The researchers believe that a Type Ia supernova was the more likely origin for Telios because red giants are much less common outside the galactic plane. However, it is hard to tell for sure because they cannot identify the remnant's progenitor — the shriveled husk of the exploded star that usually lurks at the heart of SNRs. "While we deem the Type Ia scenario the most likely, we note that no direct evidence is available to definitively confirm any scenario and new sensitive and high-resolution observations of this object are needed," the researchers wrote.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers Spot a Strangely Perfect Sphere Thousands of Light-Years Away
Here's what you'll learn in this story. Scientists using radio wavelength data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) spotted a strangely symmetrical sphere located thousands of light-years away. The 'sphere' is likely the result of a Type 1a supernova shockwave, though astronomers aren't sure exactly how far away the this supernova remnant is from Earth—either 7,175 light-years or 25,114 light-years. Regardless of this distance discrepancy, the near-perfect spherical nature of the remnant gives scientists the opportunity to learn more about one of the most energetic events in the universe. The amount humanity has learned about the cosmos in just the past century is truly staggering. A little over a century ago, American astronomer Edwin Hubble announced to the world that the Milky Way was actually just one galaxy among many in the known universe. Now, we know the universe contains hundreds of billions—if not trillions—of galaxies, and engineers have developed space-based telescopes capable of spying some of the oldest ones in existence. Of course, that doesn't mean mysteries don't remain—both large and small. On the big side of the equation, dark matter and dark energy remain perplexing conundrums, but science's array of detectors often posit smaller puzzles. One such mystery is the curious case of supernova remnant (SNR) G305.4–2.2, nicknamed Teleios. A Greek word meaning 'perfect,' Telelios references the near-perfect symmetry of what appears to be a sphere of ejected star material—aka a supernova remnant. Initially captured by the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), Teleios's origin isn't the real head-scratcher. Instead, scientists like Miroslav Filipović, an astrophysicist from Western Sydney University in Australia, are more perplexed by its near-perfect shape, an extreme rarity for such an SNR throughout the universe. 'The supernova remnant will be deformed by its environment over time,' Filipovic, along with a cadre of other Australian astrophysicists, wrote in an article on The Conversation in March. 'If one side of the explosion slams into an interstellar cloud, we'll see a squashed shape. So, a near-perfect circle in a messy universe is a special find.' In an analysis submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia and published on the preprint server arXiv, Filipović—the lead author of the study—and his team discovered that Teleios only glows faintly in radio wavelengths. Armed with this information, the astronomers could reasonably deduce that Telelios originated from a Type 1a supernova, which typically form from binary star systems where one of the stars is a white dwarf. Because these types of supernovae are consistent in their peak brightness, astronomers have used them for decades to measure cosmic distances (with none other than the Hubble telescope among others). However, in this instance, astronomers haven't been able to quite nail down Teleios's exact distance, but they've drawn up three best guesses. If it is the results of a Type 1a supernova, then its likely that this symmetrical mystery is either 7,175 light-years or 25,114 light-years away, making the sphere either 46 light-years across or 157 light-years across, respectively. This distance also reflects its age, meaning it's either less than 1,000 years old or greater than 10,000 years old. So, lots of room for further exploration. The study also posits the idea that it could be a Type 1ax supernova where the supernova instead leaves behind a 'zombie star' remnant, according to Live Science. However, in this scenario, the supernova would be only 3,262 light-years away and around 11 light-years across. Whatever the scenario, Teleios—which is just one of the many interesting things discovered by ASKAP—still presents a remarkable opportunity to learn more about supernovae. 'This presents us with an opportunity to make inferences about the initial supernova explosion, providing rare insight into one of the most energetic events in the universe,' Filipovic co-authors in The Conversation. In 100 years from now, who knows what the universe might look like to our 22nd-century enlightened minds. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers Baffled by a Suspicious, Perfectly Round Sphere in Our Galaxy
Today, in questions you didn't know you needed the answer to: Is there such a thing as a perfect ball? And if there were, would it contain the secrets of the universe? To wit, a spherical object lurking in our galaxy is so perfectly round that astronomers can't explain how it was formed. Dubbed "Teleios" after the Greek word for "perfect," the object is what's known as a supernova remnant (SNR), a glowing cloud of hot gases and other material left behind after a massive star dies in a powerful explosion called a supernova. And it's definitely earned its nickname. According to the astronomers' findings, as reported in a pre-print study accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, this is one of the most circular galactic SNRs ever found. "The shape indicates Teleios has remained relatively untouched by its environment," said lead author Miroslav Filipovic, an astronomer at Western Sydney University, in an essay for The Conversation written with his colleagues earlier this year. "This presents us with an opportunity to make inferences about the initial supernova explosion, providing rare insight into one of the most energetic events in the universe." When a star goes supernova, it blasts all that stellar material into space in a tremendous release of energy bright enough to momentarily outshine even entire galaxies. The astronomers believe that Teleios is the result of a rare type of explosion — we're talking happening only once every 500 years in the Milky Way rare — called a type Ia supernova that occurs in binary star systems. When a smaller but far denser white dwarf siphons enough matter from its companion star whose orbit has crept too close, the stolen stellar material detonates in an epic thermonuclear explosion that obliterates both the stars. For something so symmetrical to emerge out of an event so violent is unusual, to put it mildly. "The supernova remnant will be deformed by its environment over time. If one side of the explosion slams into an interstellar cloud, we'll see a squashed shape," explained Filipovic in the essay. "So, a near-perfect circle in a messy universe is a special find." Teleios was uncovered as part of the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), an enormous radio telescope that's proving to be a powerful tool for finding SNRs that aren't visible in other wavelengths. Teleios, exclusively seen at radio-continuum frequencies, is one of them. Along with its perfect shape, it has one of the lowest surface brightnesses among all known galactic SNRs. The astronomers estimate that Teleios lies at a distance of either 2.2 or 7.7 kiloparsecs away (or approximately 7,100 or 25,100 light years). The uncertainty surrounding its distance means its age and size are hard to pin down, too. It's either on the younger side at less than 1,000 years old, or much older at over 10,000 years old. Likewise, it could be as small as 46 light years across, or as large as 157 light years. In any case, their findings place Teleios at a stage of its evolution called the Sedov-Taylor phase, during which the expansion of the SNR first begins to slow down, as it sweeps up additional mass from the interstellar medium of space. There's a catch, though: this process should produce detectable x-ray emissions, but the astronomers haven't see any. Maybe, the astronomers explored, Teleios is actually the remnant of an even rarer type of Ia supernova: a type Iax, in which the white dwarf partially survives as "zombie star." In that case, Teleios might be much closer at less than 3,200 light years away while being about 10.7 light years across. No hard answer, however, can be made from the data we have now. But this is just the beginning, and the astronomers are optimistic that more detailed observations in the future will one day help put this mystery to bed. More on stars: NASA's James Webb Telescope Just Found Frozen Water Around Another Star
Gizmodo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
This Perfectly Spherical Supernova Is Weirding Us Out
Dubbed Teleios, the unusually symmetrical space object is puzzling astronomers with its near-perfect shape and mysterious origin. The universe is a chaotic place filled with exploding stars, material falling into black holes, and rogue planets wandering off on their own. All that chaos makes astronomers suspicious when they glimpse a hint of perfection in the cosmos, like a bubble of material left over from the death of a star that appears to be in perfectly symmetrical shape. Astronomers recently discovered the remnant of a galactic supernova with a remarkable circular symmetry, making it stand out as one of the most perfectly spherical objects detected in the universe. Perfection is not always a bad problem to have, but it does prompt certain questions regarding how the object came to be this way. The discovery, submitted to the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia and made available on the preprint website arXiv, was spotted in images collected by the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder. The researchers behind the paper identified the object as a galactic supernova remnant—an expanding cloud of debris that forms in the aftermath of the exploding death of a star. The object, located in the Milky Way galaxy, has been dubbed Teleios, the Greek word for perfect. Although it is almost perfectly symmetrical, Teleios is not very bright. It has one of the lowest recorded surface brightness levels among known supernova remnants. Astronomers observing Teleios are also uncertain about its distance to Earth, estimating that it could either be around 7,175 or 25,114 light-years away. That's a huge difference in distance, and the uncertainty is affecting our understanding of how long the object has been there. The two different distances imply different sizes for Teleios, since objects appear smaller the farther away they are. At its closer distance to Earth, the supernova remnant would be about 46 light-years wide. If it were much farther away, it would be a much larger cloud—around 157 light-years across. Based on its size variation, the scientists suggest that this particular cloud of expanding material has either been around for less than 1,000 years at its smaller size, or a much older supernova remnant that formed more than 10,000 years ago and grew to its larger size. Another odd thing about Teleios is that it only appears in radio wavelengths, even though modeling of the object suggests it should have X-ray emissions. The scientists behind the study try to explain the lack of X-ray emissions by suggesting Teleios is a Type Ia supernova, which takes place in a binary star system in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. In that case, a zombie star is often left behind along with the supernova remnant. There is a nearby star that fits the profile, but it would mean that Teleios is much smaller, spanning across a mere 11 light-years in the Milky Way. However, none of the measurements of Teleios' distance correspond to this small size. 'We consider several different scenarios to explain Teleios's unusual properties, all of which have their challenges,' the researchers wrote in the paper. 'While we deem the Type Ia scenario the most likely, we note that no direct evidence is available to definitively confirm any scenario.' The researchers suggest that sensitive and high-resolution observations of this object are needed in order to uncover its mysteriously perfect shape and unusual qualities.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sorry, Pluto: The solar system could have a 9th planet after all, astronomers say
A recent research paper suggests that a planet may exist far beyond Neptune — less than 20 years after the previous ninth planet, Pluto, was demoted. That research paper, accepted last month for publication in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, suggests that a Neptune-sized planet lies within the Kuiper Belt, an expanse of icy debris surrounding the solar system. Hints of this object, dubbed by the researchers as Planet Nine, were found in two photos taken by two infrared space telescopes in 1983 and 2006, the paper stated. Two researchers, National Tsing Hua University astronomy graduate student Terry Long Phan and his Ph.D. advisor Tomotsugu Goto, looked at the photos and found that it was enough time for a mysterious object in those photos to have moved. After they removed known sources such as stars from the photos, Phan and Goto noticed a dot with matching colors and brightness. The hypothesized planet's orbit around the sun would likely take around 10,000 years, California Institute of Technology astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin told Science. Brown and Batygin were not part of the Planet Nine research team, but both men previously suggested a 'Planet X' existed in the far reaches of the solar system. 'It's kind of fun that a paper that purports to find a candidate for Planet Nine is really finding something that would basically say that we were wrong the entire time,' Brown said to the scientific news website. Elsewhere, there are doubts. University of Regina astronomer Samantha Lawler told Science that Planet Nine's existence would be 'really cool ... But I'm not convinced, with current data, that you can't just go with the simplest explanation.' Phan and Goto will have to wait until later this year for more evidence of their findings, as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile is expected to scan the night sky, Science reported. With enough detail taken by the observatory's large digital camera, it could detect the ninth planet. Failed '70s-era Soviet spacecraft bound for Venus could soon crash back to Earth This 'Star Wars' Day, check out a moon that looks like iconic space station Pieces of Halley's Comet could leave glowing trails across the night sky Look up: This planet is about to pass through cosmic beehive in unique sky event Halley's Comet debris soon to leave glowing streaks in the sky Read the original article on MassLive.
