The Helix Nebula, in any other case generally known as NGC7293, is a favorite amongst beginner astronomers. It was one of many first objects that I imaged with my very own telescope utilizing the tri-colour tecniquing. As I recall I ended up with tons of of particular person frames that, when mixed created a shocking picture. It’s often known as NGC7293 and is a planetary nebula situated 650 mild years away within the constellation Aquarius.
The nebula is the results of a dying star of comparable mass to our Solar. Throught the lifetime of sun-like stars, the fusion course of deep within the core exerts an outward strain generally known as the thermonuclear pressure. Throughout nearly all of the lifetime of the star, this pressure balances the inward pressure of gravity and the star stays secure. Ultimately, by quite a few processes, the thermonuclear pressure wins, inflicting ther outer layers of the star to be shed, forsaking a dense, sizzling core generally known as a white dwarf. The outer layers of the star which were expelled glow as they’re illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from the central star.
Photos of the Ring Nebula, one other instance of a planetary nebula (Credit score : College of Manchester)
The X-ray emissions from the Helix Nebula aren’t new information although since they had been first detected in 1980, have lastly been recognized by observations with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. The 2 area observatories have confirmed that the emissions are coming from the white dwarf on the centre, designated WD 2226-210. What makes this discovery significantly intriguing is that white dwarfs usually do not emit sturdy X-rays.
Artist illustration of the Chandra X-ray Observatory (Credit score : NASA/CXC/NGST)
The lead researcher on the research, Sandino Estrada-Dorado explains “We predict this X-ray sign might be from planetary particles pulled onto the white dwarf, revealing the loss of life of a planet destroyed by the central star of the Helix Nebula.” Scientists had beforehand recognized a Neptune-sized planet orbiting WD 2226-210 with a interval below three days,
The most recent analysis suggests a good nearer Jupiter-like planet may need as soon as existed. The analysis proposes this planet initially shaped removed from its star however step by step migrated inward by gravitational interactions with different planets. Ultimately, the suggest, it got here shut sufficient to be torn aside by the white dwarf’s intense gravitational forces and it’s this that’s thought to have created the bizarre X-ray signatures.
The research reveals that the X-ray emissions have maintained constant brightness throughout observations in 1992, 1999, and 2002 utilizing ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton respectively. Observations revealed a delicate 2.9-hour periodicity within the X-ray sign, suggesting the presence of planetary remnants in an especially shut orbit across the white dwarf. The crew did take into account whether or not a low-mass star may need been destroyed as an alternative of a planet however they decided this much less seemingly since such stars, regardless of being related in measurement to Jupiter-like planets, have higher mass and would higher resist the white dwarf’s damaging gravitational forces.
Supply : X-ray Signal Points to Destroyed Planet, Chandra Finds
