AIP: Gaseous ring around young star raises questions

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AIP: Gaseous ring around young star raises questions

Post by bystander » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:48 pm

Gaseous ring around young star raises questions
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) | University of Michigan | 2012 Jan 19
Astronomers have detected a mysterious ring of carbon monoxide gas around the young star V1052 Cen, which is about 700 light years away in the southern constellation Centaurus.

The ring is part of the star's planet-forming disk, and it's as far from V1052 Cen as Earth is from the sun. Discovered with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, its edges are uniquely crisp.

Carbon monoxide is often detected near young stars, but the gas is usually spread through the planet-forming disk. What's different about this ring is that it is shaped more like a rope than a dinner plate, said Charles Cowley, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan who led the international research effort.

"It's exciting because this is the most constrained ring we've ever seen, and it requires an explanation," Cowley said. "At present time, we just don't understand what makes it a rope rather than a dish."

Perhaps magnetic fields hold it in place, the researchers say. Maybe "shepherding planets" are reining it in like several of Saturn's moons control certain planetary rings.

"What makes this star so special is its very strong magnetic field and the fact that it rotates extremely slow compared to other stars of the same type," said Swetlana Hubrig, of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, Germany.

The star's unique properties first caught the researchers' attention in 2008, and they have been studying it intensely ever since.

Understanding the interaction between central stars, their magnetic fields and planet-forming disks is crucial for astronomers to reconstruct the solar system's history. It is also important to account for the diversity of the known planetary systems beyond our own.

This new finding raises more questions than it answers about the late stages of star and solar system formation.

"Why do turbulent motions not tear the ring apart?" Cowley said. "How permanent is the structure? What forces might act to preserve it for times comparable to the stellar formation time itself?"

The team is excited to have found an ideal test case to study this type of object.

"This star is a gift of nature," Hubrig said.

The narrow, inner CO ring around the magnetic Herbig Ae star HD 101412 - C. R. Cowley, S. Hubrig, F. Castelli, B. Wolff
Young Magnetic Star Possesses Precise Carbon Dioxide Ring
Universe Today | Tammy Plotner | 2012 Jan 23
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Re: AIP: Gaseous ring around young star raises questions

Post by Ann » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:59 am

We may note that this is an unusual star since it is of spectral class A0. Is that unusual? Oh yes, it is likely twice as massive as the Sun, and that puts it in the top 1% echelon of stars in our galaxy.

The simple fact that this is a star of spectral class A means that astronomers haven't seen that many stars like it come into being. Low-mass M-type stars are a dime a dozen, but A-type stars are not. Perhaps, if astronomers had seen more high-mass stars forming, they might have been less surprised at this one.

I note that the artist also isn't aware that the star is a high-mass blue star, since the illustration shows us a deeply yellow star.

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Re: AIP: Gaseous ring around young star raises questions

Post by bystander » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:12 am

Ann wrote:I note that the artist also isn't aware that the star is a high-mass blue star, since the illustration shows us a deeply yellow star.
I note that this is what one might call a stock photo and wasn't created to illustrate this system. I found this image being used as early as 2009.
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
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