SergUpstart Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Astronomers have witnessed for the first time how a large star in one of the neighboring dwarf galaxies, located in the constellation Aquarius, suddenly disappeared from the sky, presumably directly turning into a black hole. This was announced on Tuesday by the press service of the European southern Observatory (ESO). "Such large stars usually produce bright supernova bursts at the end of their lives, which is why the disappearance of this star has become an extremely unusual event for us. If it really directly turned into a black hole, then we are the first direct witnesses of how the life of a giant star ended in such a manner," said Andrew Allan, an astrophysicist from Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland), whose words are quoted by the ESO press service. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scientists-say-a-massive-star-has-mysteriously-disappeared/5485235.html#:~:text=Astronomers say a massive star,in the constellation of Aquarius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 I have never heard of the possibility of something like that happening. After the core of a massive star has fused to heavier elements and cannot produce any more radiation pressure, it has to necessarily collapse to neutronium first. This sudden collapse lets the layers above it collapse also, and it is the gravitational energy of the above collapsing layers which powers the ( super ) nova explosion. The star would have to skip this stage, with the core going directly to a BH, and expanding outward at the speed of light, for the star to simply 'wink out'. i'm sure they'll find some other explanation for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SergUpstart Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, MigL said: i'm sure they'll find some other explanation for it. More dust ?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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