In Washington, scientists have finally confirmed the fate of a star that exploded in a spectacular supernova, an event which was visible from Earth more than thirty years ago. Revealed through extensive study, the star has transformed into what is known as a neutron star, a celestial body that is considered one of the most peculiar in the entire universe.
The star, located in a galaxy neighboring ours, went supernova in the year 1987. The explosion was so intense that it was detectable with the naked eye from Earth for several months. The scientific community speculated that once the core of the star collapsed, the remnants would either morph into a black hole, a celestial object from which nothing can escape, or a neutron star, which, apart from a black hole, is the densest object known in the universe.
However, the process of confirming which object the remnants had transformed into was hindered by the immense amount of debris created by the supernova. This debris cloud was so thick that astronomers were unable to see past it. The space telescope named after James Webb and operated by NASA, managed to penetrate the debris cloud by utilizing infrared light. This allowed the scientists to identify two chemical signatures, namely, argon and sulfur, which are indicative of a pulsating, superheated neutron star. These findings were published in a study in the scientific journal named Science.
Given that the explosion took place relatively recently and was meticulously documented, this discovery could aid astronomers in understanding this unusual celestial object better and also shed light on its predecessors that contributed essential elements like carbon and iron to the universe.
The neutron star in question measures only twenty kilometers from one end to the other, yet it is 1.5 times heavier than our Sun. The star’s atoms are densely packed, leaving very little space between them. The aftermath of the 1987A supernova, as it is referred to, represents the only instance in modern astronomy where the birth and early years of a neutron star have been observed, although there exist closer, older stars in our galaxy, as stated by scientists.
These neutron stars, along with black holes, constitute the most exotic objects we have in the universe,
remarked Claes Fransson, an astrophysicist at Stockholm University in Sweden and one of the authors of the study. We’ve known about these objects since the 1960s, but we haven’t witnessed any of them actually form.
Pictures of the supernova remnant, located in a distant galaxy, show what Fransson refers to as a pearl ring
surrounding a dust cloud. The neutron star is believed to be situated somewhere in the middle of this dust cloud.
Scientists have long theorized that the collapsed core had transformed into a neutron star. However, the measurements carried out by the James Webb telescope, despite not providing a direct image of the star, offer a reasonably definitive answer, a consensus reached by both Fransson and scientists not involved in the study.
The hypothesis that the remnants have turned into a neutron star is well-founded, claimed Roger Blandford, an astrophysicist at Stanford University, who was not a part of the study.
Because the supernova explosion was both recent and relatively close, “it keeps providing us with invaluable knowledge, teaching us about neutrinos, the evolution of stars, and now what transpires post the explosion,” Blandford concluded in an electronic mail correspondence.
