Mystery of the disappearing star – how N6946-BH1 vanished without a trace
Staff Reporter
International Business TimesMay 26, 2017
Mystery of the disappearing star
The star N6946-BH1 in a spiral formation 22 million light years away known as the 'fireworks galaxy', was last seen by Nasa's Hubble Telescope in 2009. By 2015, it wasn't there anymore.
How did a star 25 times the size of our Sun simply wink out of existence? Such large stars often go out with a bang – a supernova – blasting off much of their remaining mass before collapsing to form an incredibly dense black hole.
Trending: Has Hillary Step at the top of Everest collapsed or not, and why can't people decide?
But this didn't happen to N6946-BH1, according to a paper published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. There was a slight brightening around 2009 where the star expelled its outer layer in a gentle puff, but it wasn't anywhere near bright enough to be a supernova.
The Hubble Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope were not able to detect the star when they looked with the same filters at this patch of space in 2015. One theory for what happened to it is that it formed a black hole directly without going through the usual process of a supernova first.
Don't miss: Mystery of the disappearing star – how N6946-BH1 vanished without a trace
"The typical view is that a star can form a black hole only after it goes supernova," said Christopher Kochanek of Ohio State University in a statement.
Although this contradicts current theories of the role of supernovas in forming black holes, it may be much more common than astronomers previously thought.
Most popular: Did first humans really evolve in Greece? 'Extraordinary' claim lacks crucial evidence
"If a star can fall short of a supernova and still make a black hole, that would help to explain why we don't see supernovae from the most massive stars."
As such, the findings could shed light on the origin of supermassive black holes. Up to 30% of massive stars capable of a supernova could instead collapse to become a black hole without an explosion. Astronomers have dubbed this process a "massive fail".
"N6946-BH1 is the only likely failed supernova that we found in the first seven years of our survey. During this period, six normal supernovae have occurred within the galaxies we've been monitoring, suggesting that 10 to 30% of massive stars die as failed supernovae," said Scott Adams, a former Ohio State student.
However, another theory for what happened to the star is that it is in fact still there, shrouded in a cloud of gas. The miniature explosion noted in 2009 could have created a cloud that would hide it from instruments on Earth.
But very little infra-red radiation was seen from the site where the star was. At least some radiation would be expected to seep through if N6946-BH1 was hiding behind a cloud.
Further observation of this region of space with Nasa's Chandra X-ray Observatory could help to elucidate whether the star is really still there or not.
ALSO CHECK OUT MY 2 BOOKS “THE
SHAITAN” & “HOBO HANDBOOK: MEMOIRS OF A HOMELESS POET IN NEW YORK” SOLD AT THESE
LOCATIONS:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/573076
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/655627
Barnes & Noble Bookstore: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shaitan-daniel-canada/1123886050?ean=2940152342888
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hobo-handbook-daniel-canada/1124340542?ean=2940153669205
They are not being sold on Amazon.com at this time.
To view a few sample pages or to
purchase the books visit:
https://smashwords.com/books/view/573076 (Note: You must 1st remove “adult content” filter from top
right hand corner of Smashword page to access the books, by clicking the “Adult
Content” button before
searching for the titles titles in search field).
If you want to view my Smashwords
Author Profile visit:
You can also check out the comments
I will be posting on these social media sites:
My
Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.canada3
My
Twitter account: https://twitter.com/lordlumiel
If
you wish to shoot me a personal note, this is my email address: lordlumiel@yahoo.com
