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This Hubble Space Telescope image includes the binary star system R Aquarii.
(Image credit: Image credit: NASA, ESA, Matthias Stute, Margarita Karovska, Davide De Martin(ESA/Hubble ), Mahdi Zamani(ESA/Hubble))
What it is: The variable binary star R Aquarii and the Cederblad 211 nebula
Where it is: 710 light-years away, in the constellation Aquarius
When it was shared: Oct. 16, 2024
Why it’s so unique: Not all stars in the night sky are what they appear. Take R Aquarii, a point of light approximately in between where Saturn and Jupiter appear in the sky today. It’s 2 stars, not one. That’s not uncommonAccording to Space.comaround 85 % of stars exist in binary star systems. R Aquarii includes an enormous, cool red giant star and a thick, compact, hot white dwarf star. The 2 stars have a violent relationship returning centuries.
Their interaction has actually triggered the red giant star, which has to do with 400 times bigger than the sunto dim and lighten up over 390 Earth days. Throughout that time, it differs in brightness by an element of 750, peaking at 5,000 times the sun’s brightness and altering temperature level.
Related: 38 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images
Astronomers call it a variable star, however R Aquarii is likewise a cooperative star. The factor for the sluggish blink is a surge on the surface area of the white dwarf. Hydrogen develops on the hot surface area of the white dwarf till it undoubtedly sparks after spontaneous nuclear combinationtriggering an explosive outburst of radiant gas. It does that when the 2 stars are close to each other, which takes place approximately every 44 years.
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An uncropped variation of the image. (Image credit: Image credit: NASA, ESA, Matthias Stute, Margarita Karovska, Davide De Martin(ESA/Hubble), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Hubble))
That hydrogen-bomb-like occasion is called a nova. A comparable occasion most likely produced the vibrant nebula, called Cederblad 211, around R Aquarii, whose filaments blast from both ends of the galaxy and reach over 248 billion miles (400 billion kilometers) into area. Throughout an outburst, plasma filaments shoot outside at more than 1 million miles per hour (1.6 million km/h) and end up being shaped into spirals by strong electromagnetic fields.
Lovely image of R Aquarii and Cederblad 211 from the Hubble Space Telescope, a time-lapse video was produced utilizing 5 images drawn from 2014 to 2023. The video reveals the system’s brightness altering with time, using a terrific example of a method called time-domain astronomy.
For more superb area images, take a look at our Area Photo of the Week archives
Jamie Carter is a self-employed reporter and routine Live Science factor based in Cardiff, U.K. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie routinely composes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife publication and Scientific American, and lots of others. He modifies WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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