brian myers issued
Astronomers studying the aftermath of a supernova explosion have located the original star, an object that was supposed to be destroyed during the explosion but instead became an object known as a zombie star. A team from the Center for Astrophysics, the Smithsonian Institution, and Harvard University led a thorough study of the supernova, officially known as SN 1181, and created a 3D video of the event that produced the “undead” star.
track the zombie star
In 1181 (the origin of the supernova’s name), humans were observing the constellation Cassiopeia when a bright light joined the cosmic structure for six days. It was believed at the time to be another star, but thousands of years ago, people observing the night sky witnessed the first recorded supernova, generations before telescopes were invented. It became clear that
The history of this zombie star is being traced by amateur astronomer Dana Patchik, who discovered that SN 1181 originates from nebula Pa 30 in our galaxy. The star’s remnants were the subject of a more detailed research study by a team led by Tim Cunningham, who took part in an amazing 3D simulation.
What is Zombie Star?
The phenomenon of zombie stars has fascinated astronomers for decades. For those who may have been absent the day this was covered in physics class, a zombie star is a star that survived a type 1ax supernova explosion but did not collapse. Rather, this body remains as a star that can be compared to a “zombie,” and it appears as if it has come back to life.
Zombie stars aren’t the only orbiting objects in the universe named after supernatural creatures. A zombie star could develop into a “vampire star” if it were able to revive itself by siphoning energy from a nearby star.
Zombie stars tend to occur in binary star systems, that is, solar systems containing two suns. The larger star explodes as a supernova, and the smaller of the two stars shrinks into a white dwarf. The resulting zombie star eventually dies like all stars, but in very rare cases a zombie star may go through this process more than once.
catch the zombie star
The SN 1181 phenomenon was investigated using large amounts of data from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager, a spectrometer that towers 13,000 feet above sea level atop the Mauna Kea volcano at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Because the instrument can capture the spectrum of light “from every pixel it produces,” the team behind the 3D video was able to build a model of SN 1181 that plays like a cosmic fireworks show. .
The Zombie Star video confirmed to the research team that the SN 1181 explosion occurred in the year it was named, but the work is not yet complete. 3D imaging has led to more questions they want to answer, such as why the shape of the supernova is different than originally hypothesized.
Noting that the supernova exploded its material asymmetrically, the researchers are now investigating whether this is due to a cavity around the zombie star.
sauce: space