News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
22
o
Mount Lebanon
22
o
Metn
22
o
Keserwan
22
o
North
23
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
20
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Mass
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
22
o
Mount Lebanon
22
o
Metn
22
o
Keserwan
22
o
North
23
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
20
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Astronomers spot white dwarf star with 'metallic scar'
Variety and Tech
2024-02-27 | 03:47
High views
Share
Share
5
min
Astronomers spot white dwarf star with 'metallic scar'
A slowly cooling stellar ember called a white dwarf with a scar on its face is providing new insight into the behavior of certain "cannibal" stars at the end of their life cycle.
Using the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope, researchers studied a white dwarf about 63 light-years from Earth.
A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). Like all white dwarfs, it is incredibly dense, packing about 70 percent of the sun's mass into an Earth-sized object.
Stars with up to eight times the mass of our sun appear destined to end up as a white dwarf. They eventually burn up all the hydrogen they use as fuel. Gravity then causes them to collapse and blow off their outer layers in a "red giant" stage, eventually leaving a compact core - the white dwarf.
Astronomers have established that white dwarfs ingest fragments of planets, moons, and asteroids. In the new study, the researchers detected for the first time a telltale sign of this process - a scar on the white dwarf's surface made up of the metal elements of a planetary fragment or asteroid that it gobbled - accreted, in scientific terms - after being funneling in by the star's magnetic field.
The researchers were surprised by the finding, having suspected that the debris would have blended with the rest of the material on the white dwarf's surface.
"We did not think that the magnetic field could prevent the accreted material from mixing on the surface of the star. When you pour sugar in a glass of water, all water becomes sweet," said astronomer Stefano Bagnulo of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland, lead author of the study published on Monday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
It was unclear what type of body had left the scar, which included iron, nickel, titanium, chromium, magnesium, and other elements.
"This particular 'planet snack' was at least as massive as Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in our solar system," University College London astronomer and study co-author Jay Farihi said.
Vesta is a rocky object in our solar system's main asteroid belt with a diameter of about 330 miles (530 km).
"Planetary systems are born together with their star, all condensing from a cloud of dust and gas. We often call the star the 'parent,' so this is a bit like a mother eating her children," Farihi added.
This white dwarf started its life as a star about twice the sun's mass, living a lifespan of perhaps 1.2 billion years before entering its death throes.
Many white dwarfs have a debris disk orbiting them - the remnants of a planetary system. This material gradually falls onto the star's surface.
"We say the atmosphere of these stars is 'polluted' by metal elements," Bagnulo said.
About 20% of white dwarfs possess a strong magnetic field. Some white dwarfs, like this one, have both traits - they have an atmosphere polluted by metal elements and are permeated by a magnetic field.
"The key discovery is that we have seen that the magnetic field plays a central role in the way the disk debris falls at the star's surface.
Not only is the material funneled by the magnetic field, but it is also stuck at the magnetic poles without being mixed at the star's surface," Bagnulo said.
This bleak vision of a star's end may be more than merely academic for us Earthlings. It could be a vision of the future of our solar system - though many, many years away. The sun is roughly 4.5 billion years old.
"Our sun will become a white dwarf in 5 billion years," Farihi said, "and will likely become polluted by our planetary system."
Reuters
Variety and Tech
Astronomers
Star
White Dwarf
Metal
Scar
Planet
Next
Winter escapade: Here are mesmerizing pictures of Lebanon's charming snow-covered landscapes from cedars to slopes
Arab Tourism Organization designate Kfardebian as the Arab Winter Resort Capital 2024
Previous
Related Articles
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2024-04-27
Yemen's Houthis confirm targeting Andromeda Star oil ship in Red Sea
World News
2024-04-27
Yemen's Houthis confirm targeting Andromeda Star oil ship in Red Sea
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-25
80,000 to 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza arrive in Egypt since start of war
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-25
80,000 to 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza arrive in Egypt since start of war
0
World News
2024-04-24
Biden intends to send new weapons to Ukraine starting 'this week'
World News
2024-04-24
Biden intends to send new weapons to Ukraine starting 'this week'
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-22
Hamas Health Ministry: Death toll in Gaza rises to 34,151 since the start of the war
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-22
Hamas Health Ministry: Death toll in Gaza rises to 34,151 since the start of the war
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
World News
07:54
Paris 2024 Olympics flame sets sail for France
World News
07:54
Paris 2024 Olympics flame sets sail for France
0
Variety and Tech
2024-04-23
Yasmina Zaytoun's MBC debut on 'Sabah El Kheir Ya Arab': A catalyst for redefining beauty pageants in the Arab world
Variety and Tech
2024-04-23
Yasmina Zaytoun's MBC debut on 'Sabah El Kheir Ya Arab': A catalyst for redefining beauty pageants in the Arab world
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Unveiling Lebanese leaders: Meet Lebanon's entries in Forbes Middle East's 'Top 30 Asset Managers 2024' list
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Unveiling Lebanese leaders: Meet Lebanon's entries in Forbes Middle East's 'Top 30 Asset Managers 2024' list
0
Variety and Tech
2024-04-18
Binance acquires Dubai licence to target retail clients
Variety and Tech
2024-04-18
Binance acquires Dubai licence to target retail clients
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
News Bulletin Reports
2023-09-29
Government departments face power cut-off over unpaid bills
News Bulletin Reports
2023-09-29
Government departments face power cut-off over unpaid bills
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
01:12
Israeli FM: Hostage deal would defer Rafah operation
Israel-Gaza War Updates
01:12
Israeli FM: Hostage deal would defer Rafah operation
0
News Bulletin Reports
12:17
French Foreign Minister Visits Beirut to Advance Diplomatic Efforts
News Bulletin Reports
12:17
French Foreign Minister Visits Beirut to Advance Diplomatic Efforts
0
World News
2023-10-04
French FM discusses with US Biden situation in Armenia
World News
2023-10-04
French FM discusses with US Biden situation in Armenia
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
05:50
Samir Geagea denounces Hezbollah's role in South Lebanon, says Lebanese army alone can secure the borders
Lebanon News
05:50
Samir Geagea denounces Hezbollah's role in South Lebanon, says Lebanese army alone can secure the borders
2
Lebanon News
08:09
Qassem: Any expansion of Israeli aggression will be met with a firm response from Hezbollah
Lebanon News
08:09
Qassem: Any expansion of Israeli aggression will be met with a firm response from Hezbollah
3
Lebanon News
05:14
Three people killed due to Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon
Lebanon News
05:14
Three people killed due to Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon
4
Lebanon News
05:16
Lebanon's Cabinet adopts TNO report on Issam Abdallah's killing, seeks ICC intervention
Lebanon News
05:16
Lebanon's Cabinet adopts TNO report on Issam Abdallah's killing, seeks ICC intervention
5
Lebanon News
00:25
French foreign minister aims to prevent Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalation in Lebanon visit
Lebanon News
00:25
French foreign minister aims to prevent Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalation in Lebanon visit
6
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:15
US officials say Israel may be violating international law in Gaza, Reuters source reports
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:15
US officials say Israel may be violating international law in Gaza, Reuters source reports
7
News Bulletin Reports
12:22
Negotiations and Internal Disputes Escalate Between Gaza and Lebanon Fronts in Israel
News Bulletin Reports
12:22
Negotiations and Internal Disputes Escalate Between Gaza and Lebanon Fronts in Israel
8
News Bulletin Reports
12:17
French Foreign Minister Visits Beirut to Advance Diplomatic Efforts
News Bulletin Reports
12:17
French Foreign Minister Visits Beirut to Advance Diplomatic Efforts
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More