|
Superbubble of supernova remnants caught in act of forming
January 10, 2007CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A superbubble in space, caught in the act of forming, can help scientists better understand the life and death of massive stars, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Found within the Small Magellanic Cloud - a galactic neighbor of the Milky Way - the large region of ionized hydrogen gas is designated "LHa115-N19," and "contains a number of massive stars and overlapping supernova remnants," said Rosa Williams, an astronomer at the U. of I. "We can tell there has been a fair amount of stellar activity going on."
From birth to death, massive stars have a tremendous impact on their surroundings. While alive, these stars generate stellar winds that push away nearby gas and dust, forming low-density cavities inside expanding bubbles. When the stars die, shock waves from their death throes can enlarge those bubbles into huge supernova remnants.
"In N19, we have not one star, but a number of massive stars blowing bubbles and we have several supernova remnants," Williams said. "Some of these cavities may overlap with one another. Eventually, these bubbles could merge into one enormous cavity, called a superbubble."
To identify the locations of massive stars, stellar-wind bubbles and supernova remnants in N19, Williams and colleagues combined optical images, X-ray data and spectroscopic measurements.
"We caught this particular region of N19 at a neat moment in time," Williams said. "The stars are just dispersed enough that their stellar winds and supernova blasts are working together, but have not yet carved out a full cavity. We are witnessing the birth of a superbubble."
The behavior of matter and energy within a superbubble has implications for the formation of planetary systems, said Williams, who will present her team's findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, on Tuesday (Jan. 9).
During its life and death, a massive star forges the heavy elements that enrich the interstellar medium and form planets. "Our own solar system may have formed within the confines of a superbubble," said Williams, who uses an analogy with people to help explain her interest in superbubbles.
"Some people live pretty independently in isolated country houses, while others live in large cities that require a centralized structure," Williams said. "In N19, we are looking at a possible bridge between an individual star living its life and dying its death, and a community of stars, where living and dying affects other stars and planets, and creates a structure around them."
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"In N19, we have not one star, but a number of massive stars blowing bubbles and we have several supernova remnants," Williams said. "Some of these cavities may overlap with one another. Eventually, these bubbles could merge into one enormous cavity, called a superbubble."
To identify the locations of massive stars, stellar-wind bubbles and supernova remnants in N19, Williams and colleagues combined optical images, X-ray data and spectroscopic measurements.
"We caught this particular region of N19 at a neat moment in time," Williams said. "The stars are just dispersed enough that their stellar winds and supernova blasts are working together, but have not yet carved out a full cavity. We are witnessing the birth of a superbubble."
The behavior of matter and energy within a superbubble has implications for the formation of planetary systems, said Williams, who will present her team's findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, on Tuesday (Jan. 9).
During its life and death, a massive star forges the heavy elements that enrich the interstellar medium and form planets. "Our own solar system may have formed within the confines of a superbubble," said Williams, who uses an analogy with people to help explain her interest in superbubbles.
"Some people live pretty independently in isolated country houses, while others live in large cities that require a centralized structure," Williams said. "In N19, we are looking at a possible bridge between an individual star living its life and dying its death, and a community of stars, where living and dying affects other stars and planets, and creates a structure around them."
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Supernova News and Current Supernova Events RSSLIGO observations probe the dynamics of the crab pulsar
The search for gravitational waves has revealed new information about the core of one of the most famous objects in the sky: the Crab Pulsar in the Crab Nebula.
CSI: Milky Way team works scene of dead star
Like a team of forensic detectives in a television show that could be called "CSI: Milky Way," a University of Chicago astrophysicist and his associates are piecing together how a mysterious infrared ring got left around a dead star that displays a magnetic field trillions of times more intense than Earth's.
Scientists Find Giant Ring Encircling Exotic Dead Star
One of the most powerful eruptions in the universe might have spun an infrared ring around a rare and exotic star known as a magnetar, a highly magnetized neutron star and the remnant of a brilliant supernova explosion signaling the death throes of a massive star.
Supernova birth seen for first time
Astronomers have seen the aftermath of spectacular stellar explosions known as supernovae before, but until now no one has witnessed a star dying in real time.
A scientific first: A supernova explosion is observed in real time
An ordinary observation with NASA's Swift research satellite recently led to the first real-time sighting of a star in the process of exploding. Astronomers have surveyed thousands of these supernova explosions in the past, but their observations have always begun some time after the main event is underway.
Observation of X-rays from birth of supernova leads to all-out effort to record stellar death
The lucky capture in January of an X-ray outburst from the very beginning of a supernova allowed astronomers around the world to quickly follow up with ground-based telescopes and collect a wealth of new information on early processes in stellar explosions, according to a paper newly submitted to The Astrophysical Journal.
NASA's Swift satellite catches first 'normal' supernova in the act of exploding
Thanks to a fortunate observation with NASA's Swift satellite, astronomers, for the first time, have caught a normal supernova at the moment of its birth--the first instant when an exploding star begins spewing its energy into space, transforming into a supernova that during its brief lifetime will shine brighter than billions of stars combined.
Discovery of most recent supernova in our galaxy
The most recent supernova in our Galaxy has been discovered by tracking the rapid expansion of its remains. This result, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NRAO's Very Large Array (VLA), has implications for understanding how often supernovas explode in the Milky Way galaxy.
Milky Way's Giant Black Hole Awoke from Slumber 300 Years Ago
Using NASA, Japanese, and European X-ray satellites, a team of Japanese astronomers has discovered that our galaxy's central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago.
New Star Systems First of Their Kind
Researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today in Astrophysical Journal Letters that they have discovered a faraway binary star system that could be the progenitor of a rare type of supernova.
More Supernova News Articles
 | Radical Amazement: Contemplative Lessons from Black Holes, Supernovas, And Other Wonders of the Universe by Judy Cannato |
 | X-Men: Supernovas by Mike Carey |
 | The Supernova Advisor: Crossing The Invisible Bridge to Exceptional Client Service and Consistent Growth by Rob Knapp |
 | Lisa Lopes: The Life of a Supernova by Nancy Krulik |
| Supernova 1987A: Astronomy's Explosive Enigma by Russell M. Genet | |
| Supernova by Russ Ebbets | |
| The Supernova Story by Laurence A. Marschall | |
 | The Tokyo Trilogy: Tokyo Sodom / Tokyo Slaughterhouse / Tokyo Supernova by Stephen Barber |
 | Oasis Supersonic Supernova by Michael Krugman |
 | ANDY WARHOL/SUPERNOVA: Stars, Deaths, and Disasters, 1962-1964 by Andy Warhol |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |