2023-07-03 22:07:02
A study has found that the exoplanet ‘Halla’ discovered by Korean astronomers might have survived a celestial phenomenon enough to be eaten by the sun ‘Baekdu’ of this stellar system. On the 28th (local time), a research team led by researcher Mark Horn of the University of Hawaii Astronomical Research Institute announced in the academic journal Nature that the planet Halla exists even though the star Baekdu has gone through stages that can cause the surrounding planets to annihilate. The Daily New York Times (NYT) reported. Located in Ursa Minor, the Baekdu system is 520 light-years away from our solar system and consists of the star Baekdu (8 UMi) and orbiting Halla (8 UMi b). It was discovered by Korean astronomers in 2015, and later named Baekdu and Halla through a public contest. The distance between Baekdu and Halla is 0.46AU (regarding 68.81 million km), slightly less than half of the distance between the sun and the Earth (1AU). If exoplanets are classified considering their size and distance from the star, Halla is a ‘hot Jupiter’. As a result of observing Baekdu using NASA’s exoplanet exploration satellite, the research team found that Baekdu had already consumed hydrogen and burned helium in its core. This means Baekdu may have already passed through the red giant phase. The star expands enormously in the late red giant stage of its evolution, engulfing nearby planets. In the case of the sun, it is expected to reach the end of its life in 5 billion years and expand to 100 times its current size, wiping out the Earth and other planets in the solar system. The research team confirmed the possibility that Baekdu may have expanded enough to exceed Halla’s orbit, and started follow-up observations in 2021 and 2022. As a result, it was found that Halla’s orbit, which is 93 days in Earth time, has been stable for more than 10 years. Daniel Huber, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii and a researcher at the University of Sydney, Australia, co-author of the study said, “If a star is eaten, it usually has disastrous consequences for planets in close orbit.” I was surprised,” he said. It is explained that Baekdu expanded to 1.5 times the distance of the current Halla’s orbit, swallowed Halla completely, and then shrunk to its current size. Calling Halla a ‘forbidden planet’, Horn said, “Baekdu may have had a very peculiar history of allowing a planet so close to it to survive in some way.” CNN Broadcasting put the headline “Scientists saw a planet that shouldn’t exist” in an article announcing the research results. The researchers also began to study whether it is possible for the planet to survive in such a case. Gas planets similar to Jupiter are known to start life in orbits farther from the star and move closer. However, the research team believed that Halla, which orbits a rapidly evolving star, would not be the case. “I don’t think Halla might have survived being absorbed by an expanding red giant,” said Assistant Professor Huber. The scenario presented by the researchers is that Halla was not in danger of extinction in the first place. The possibility that Baekdu system is a binary system with two stars has also been raised. Co-author Professor Tim Bedding, University of Sydney, said, “It is more likely that this system is similar to the fictional planet Tatooine in the movie ‘Star Wars’, which orbits the two suns.” It might have prevented the other from expanding enough to engulf the planet.” As another scenario, the possibility that Halla is a newborn planet has also been suggested. Halla might be a ‘second generation’ planet born from a gas cloud created by a collision between two stars. (82)
1688429285
#survive.. #Academic #surprise #Koreas #discovery #extrasolar #planet #Halla #Sciencetimes
© 2024 All rights reserved