NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a rare class of star known as a blue lurker in the open star cluster M67, approximately 2800 light-years away. This discovery was made possible through the analysis of data from the Hubble telescope and NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope. According to Emily Leiner of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, the blue lurker has had a complex evolutionary history, interacting with two other stars in a triple-star system.
The star’s high spin rate, completing one rotation in just four days, is evidence that it siphoned material from a companion star. Leiner’s research, supported by NASA and the European Space Agency, sheds light on the evolution of triple-star systems, which are estimated to make up around 10 percent of the Sun-like star population. The Hubble Space Telescope, a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA, has been operating for over three decades and continues to make significant contributions to our understanding of the universe.
Introduction to the Blue Lurker Star System
The term “blue lurker” refers to a rare class of star that has been explored by NASA‘s Hubble Space Telescope. This star is located in the open star cluster M67, approximately 2,800 light-years away. The blue lurker has had a tumultuous life, interacting with two other stars gravitationally bound together in a remarkable triple-star system. This star is of particular interest because it exhibits characteristics similar to those of a Sun-like star, but with some notable differences.
The blue lurker’s spin rate is significantly faster than expected, completing one rotation in just four days, compared to the typical 30 days for normal Sun-like stars. This unusual behavior led to its identification and suggests that the star must have siphoned in material from a companion star, causing its rotation to speed up. The high spin rate was discovered using NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope.
The blue lurker’s evolutionary history is complex and involves the interaction of three stars. Originally, the blue lurker rotated more slowly and orbited a binary system consisting of two Sun-like stars. Around 500 million years ago, the two stars in that binary merged, creating a single, much more massive star. This behemoth soon swelled into a giant star, dumping some of its own material onto the blue lurker and spinning it up in the process.
Today, the blue lurker is observed to be orbiting a white dwarf star, which is the burned-out remains of the massive merger. The white dwarf companion star was observed by Hubble using ultraviolet spectroscopy, revealing that it is very hot, with a surface temperature of approximately 23,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and has a mass of 0.72 solar masses. This is evidence that the white dwarf is the byproduct of the merger of two stars that once were part of a triple-star system.
Triple-star systems are relatively common, making up about 10 percent of the Sun-like star population. However, understanding their evolution and behavior is challenging due to the complex interactions between the three stars. The blue lurker’s evolutionary history provides valuable insights into the outcomes of these interactions, which can lead to interesting and explosive end products.
The study of triple-star systems like the blue lurker’s is essential for advancing our understanding of stellar evolution and the formation of exotic objects. By analyzing the properties of the blue lurker and its companion stars, researchers can gain a better understanding of the physical processes that govern the behavior of these complex systems.
The Hubble Space Telescope has played a crucial role in the discovery and study of the blue lurker star system. The telescope’s ultraviolet spectroscopy capabilities allowed researchers to determine the properties of the white dwarf companion star, including its temperature and mass. These observations have provided valuable insights into the evolutionary history of the blue lurker and the formation of the triple-star system.
The Kepler space telescope also contributed to the discovery of the blue lurker by measuring its spin rate. The combination of data from these two telescopes has enabled researchers to reconstruct the complex evolutionary history of the blue lurker star system.
The discovery of the blue lurker star system has significant implications for our understanding of stellar evolution. The study of this system has shown that triple-star systems can lead to the formation of exotic objects like white dwarfs, which are the remnants of massive stars that have exhausted their fuel and shed their outer layers.
The blue lurker’s evolutionary history also highlights the importance of mass transfer between stars in shaping their properties and behavior. The siphoning of material from a companion star onto the blue lurker has resulted in its rapid spin rate, demonstrating the complex interactions that can occur within triple-star systems.
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