Star Devours Planet, Brightens Spectacularly — ZTF and NEOWISE spot evidenc |
This artist’s impression shows a doomed planet skimming the surface of its star. Astronomers used a combination of telescopes to spot the first direct evidence of an aging, bloated sun-like star, like the one pictured here, engulfing its planet. These telescopes included the Zwicky Transient Facility at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, the W.M. Keck Observatory, and NASA’s NEOWISE mission. The aging star depicted here, called ZTF SLRN-2020, is roughly 10 billion years old.
, or ZTF, a National Science Foundation–funded instrument that scans the skies every night from Caltech’s Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego. ZTF observations showed that the star had dramatically brightened and begun to fade in a period of about a week. At first, De thought this variable star might have resulted from a nova explosion, which occurs when a dead star called asteals matter from its companion star. But follow-up observations with the W. M.
Those observations showed that the star was brightening over time in not only optical light as ZTF had observed but also in infrared light, which indicates the presence of dust. The researchers then turned toin search of more clues. NEOWISE, formerly known as WISE , has been scanning the skies regularly since shortly after its launch in 2009. NEOWISE detected the star brightening in infrared light about nine months before ZTF caught the extreme rise in optical light.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Anna Shay’s ‘Bling Empire’ co-star details late star’s ‘struggles’ before her death“She had her good times and had her moody times, but I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault. She has just been through things,” Shay’s co-star Leah Qin said.
Read more »
Studies of Blue Marble Helps Findings on Red Planet📄FROM OUR PRINT MAGAZINE: Unraveling the mysteries of Mars through the lens of our own earth. Discover the story of Wolf Vishniac, a pioneer in extraterrestrial microbiology whose work on Earth fuels our understanding of the Red Planet today. 🔴🔵
Read more »
Another Planet Entertainment hails supervisors' Castro Theatre vote, protesters dismayedThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday decided not to approve a move, which would have prevented changes to the interior of the historic Castro Theatre.
Read more »
Planet Zoo: Arid Animal Pack Arrives On June 20thThe next DLC pack on the way for Planet Zoo will be the Arid Animal Pack, containing eight new species to exhibit in your personal zoo.
Read more »
20 Years of Mars Express Images Helped Build This Mosaic of the Red PlanetTo mark the 20th anniversary of the Mars Express mission, the ESA has released a stunning color mosaic image of Mars.
Read more »
Skybound Entertainment & 5th Planet Games To Acquire ‘The Minister’ Producer SagafilmRobert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment has set plans to partner with entertainment company 5th Planet Games (5PG) to acquire the Nordic production company Sagafilm EHF (Stella Blómkvist, The Minis…
Read more »