Finally, the twisty eruption of a dying star is revealed in all its 3D glory.
A team of scientists led by a high school graduate has reconstructed the complicated and mysterious nebulae that make up one of the most famous stellar ghosts in the sky – the Cat’s Eye Nebula.
Their model showed the mechanisms that created certain previously unexplained aspects in the nebula’s structure.
These results can be used to help understand other nebulae, and they give us an insight into the possible fate of our Sun.
NGC 6543 is the Cat’s Eye Nebula. This is also known to be a planetary nubula. They aren’t related to any planets but their round shape reminds us of planets. Such nebulae are what’s left over after a star – like the Sun – runs out of fuel to burn and reaches the end of its life.
While planetary nebulae share many characteristics, the Cat’s Eye Nebula has been found to be one of the most complicated. It is round in shape but its interior is lozenge-shaped, similar to a cat’s pupil, and filled with knots shells, filaments, and shells.
Although it is one of the most well-studied nebulae, some aspects of its structure remain a bit puzzling.
These phenomena cannot be explained by the current model of planetary formation (called the interacting star winds model).
This model shows the star rising to the level of a red giant (like). Betelgeuse) and generates a slow stellar wind that pushes stellar material into space.
This is the end stage of star life. At this point, the outer material of the star is ejected into space and the core, which has lost its support from the pressure outward, is ejected into the vacuum. nuclear fusionUnder gravity, it collapses to become a white dwarf.
The extremely hot white dwarf creates a fast stellar winds that smashes into the material in slow wind. This shocks the gas and creates shells.
The point-symmetricalThis model doesn’t account for the bipolar shape that is characteristic of the Cat’s Eye Nebula.
“I was astonished by the Cat’s Eye Nebula’s beautiful, perfectly symmetrical structure when I first saw it,” explains Ryan ClairmontShe plans to attend Stanford University. “I was even more amazed that its 3D architecture was not fully understood.”
So he took action. To deconstruct the Cat’s Eye Nebula’s central region, he enlisted the help of astronomers Wolfgang Steffen of Mexico’s National Autonomous University and Nico Koning of the University of Calgary.
The Hubble Space Telescope took incredible observations of the nebula using its telescope. 2008, provided some of the data.
The spectral data taken from Mexico’s San Pedro Martir National Observatory also helped to reveal the motions within the nebula.
Their three-dimensional model revealed something very interesting: spiraling rings made of high-density gases, partially wrapped around nebula outer shell and symmetrically arranged around its two lobes.
This symmetry suggests the rings are caused by high-speed jets ejected form the poles of the Cat’s Eye star. Because the star that produced them was wobbling like a spinning top – a motion called rotational precession – this caused the jets to come out in a spiral shape.
Because they are incomplete, the jets only erupted briefly before being cut short.
A binary star is the only thing that can produce a jet in a planet nebula. The star in the Cat’s Eye’s center is believed to be a Wolf Rayet type. It’s not yet a white dwarf but it’s close enough. When such stars appear, Often paired with another starIt is possible to create Some really spectacular nebulae.
Previous researchIt was suggested that there may be a binary companion at the heart of Cat’s Eye Nebula. This interpretation is supported by the new discovery.
Future observations and analyses will be able take this model into consideration, in order to better understand the bizarre dynamics of this fascinating Nebula.
“It was very satisfying to be able do astrophysical Research of my own that actually makes an impact in this field.” Clairmont says.
“Precessing jets within planetary nebulae can be quite rare so it’s important understand how they help to shape more complex systems, such as the Cat’s Eye. Understanding their formation provides insight into the eventual fate for our Sun, which will eventually become a planet nebula.
The publication of the research was published in Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Society.
