A giant explosion in galaxy M82, known as the Cigar Galaxy, reveals a rare type of star never before seen outside the Milky Way.
This is what the Scientific News website wrote Live sciences.
It could be the first of many
The Cigar Galaxy is located about twelve million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. According to the website, researchers saw the star after it exploded and released intense energy. The accident should have only lasted a fraction of a second.
New study: Cosmic rays reach Earth from other galaxies
The explosion led astronomers to discover the so-called Magnetar – A type of rotating neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field. Only three other magnetars have been recorded in the past 50 years.
According to the new research This may be the first of many magnetars outside the Milky Way, Live Science writes. This type of star shines thousands of times brighter than the sun. However, its unexpected eruptions make it difficult for scientists to study.
NASA: – We have gone back in time, further than we ever thought we would be able to do
This discovery opens the way for our search for other magnetic stars. If we find more, we can begin to understand how often such flares occur and how these stars lose energy in the process, says Ashley Kremes, a researcher at the European Space Agency (ESA) in a new study. statement.
Starquake
It all started in November 2023, when the European Space Agency saw a sudden burst of gamma rays heading towards the galaxy M82.
– Santro Mereghetti said in the statement: – We immediately realized that this warning was unique.
Tourist town “swallowed”: – dangerous
Merghetti is a researcher at the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy and lead author of the new study “Magnetic giant flare in nearby starburst galaxy M82.” He continues, saying that gamma radiation bursts can come from anywhere in space, but this particular one came from a bright galaxy nearby.
After following up on observations, they were able to locate the explosion within the Cigar Galaxy. Researchers confirm that the glow came from a magnetar.
Astronomers say the so-called stellar quake caused the star's surface to crack and emit high-energy gamma rays into the universe, which explains the newly discovered glow they captured.
“Explorer. Unapologetic entrepreneur. Alcohol fanatic. Certified writer. Wannabe tv evangelist. Twitter fanatic. Student. Web scholar. Travel buff.”
