Astronomers have discovered new stars. It is a hundred times brighter than the sun

An international research team led by astronomer Simon Jeffrey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland has discovered eight of the hottest stars in the universe. It covers an area of ​​more than 100,000 square metres. Celsius. By comparison, the surface temperature of our sun is “only” 5800 degrees.

The research team analyzed the datasets obtained using The South African Large Telescope (SALT). Their goal was to study the evolutionary stages of highly evolved stars such as white dwarfs.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Scientists have discovered eight hypervelocity stars in a survey of hot, helium-rich dwarfs. These stars burn helium with a very thin hydrogen shell. The research team collected data in one of the darkest places in the world, about 400 km northeast of Cape Town, Using the largest single telescope in the Southern Hemisphere – SALT.

While analyzing the datasets, an international research team made a startling discovery: In addition to the hot dwarfs, they’ve discovered eight of the hottest white dwarfs in our galaxy.

All of the newly discovered stars are at an advanced stage of their life cycle and near death as white dwarfs.

White dwarfs are the densest stars in existence and are made of ordinary matter. However, with dimensions comparable to our Earth, it is a million times larger. Both hot dwarfs and white dwarfs can have high surface temperatures.

It was the hottest thing the research team discovered A white dwarf named SALT J213742.6−382901 with a surface temperature of 180,000. Celsius.

This is an impressive finding because stars with surface temperatures over 100,000 degrees are extremely rare.

Not only is the high surface temperature a special feature of the newly discovered stars: they all shine so brightly, About a hundred times brighter than our sun. However, because they are between 1,500 and 22,000 light-years from Earth, unlike the Sun, which is about eight light-minutes away, they cannot be seen with the naked eye in the night sky.

Another special feature is a star discovered by scientists called SALT J203959.5−034117. It is the central star of another newly discovered planetary nebula spanning one light-year. Two of the other celestial bodies discovered are wiggling stars.

Due to their high degree of evolution and their special properties, eight hypervelocity stars may contribute to understanding the late stages of stellar evolution in the future. The results may also shed new light on the formation of our galaxy.