All articles tagged with #gas cloud
A red supergiant star named DFK 52 has expelled the largest and most complex gas and dust cloud ever observed around such a star, likely involving multiple stars or a binary system, with significant implications for understanding stellar evolution and supernova precursors.
Astronomers have discovered a bizarre galaxy, J0613+52, located 270 million light-years away, that appears to have no visible stars, consisting only of gas. This massive blob of gas, resembling a spiral galaxy without stars, could be the first discovery of a nearby primordial galaxy, mostly made up of gas that formed at the beginning of time. The accidental discovery was made using the Green Bank Observatory, and further study of this unique object could provide valuable insights into the early stages of galaxy formation.
The hypergiant star RW Cephei, located 16,000 light-years away, has recently brightened after a two-year period of dramatic dimming. Astronomers believe the dimming was caused by a gas cloud expelled by the star, which cooled and blocked its light from view. Close-up images from the CHARA Array show irregular blotchy patches on the star's surface, caused by the orbiting gas cloud. This event, described as a "grand eruption," sheds light on the star's behavior and its massive size, being 1,000 times larger than the sun.
Astronomers have captured the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed, which is more than 10 times brighter than any known supernova and has so far lasted more than three years, making it the most energetic explosion on record. The explosion, known as AT2021lwx, is the result of a vast cloud of gas, possibly thousands of times larger than our sun, plunging into the inescapable mouth of a supermassive black hole. The findings are published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.