Space
White dwarfs going supernova detonate like a nuclear bomb, study suggests
(Planet Today) A new study published in the Physical Review Letters suggests that the remnant cores of dead average-size stars can explode like a nuclear bomb.
(Article by Virgilio Marin republished from NaturalNews.com)
Known as white dwarfs, these dense cores are packed with heavy radioactive elements called actinides that can spontaneously undergo nuclear fission – the splitting of atoms. Depending on certain conditions, these cores can eventually undergo uncontrolled fission, culminating in a massive stellar explosion known as a supernova.
“The conditions to build and set off an atomic bomb seemed very difficult. I was surprised that these conditions might be satisfied in a natural way inside a very dense white dwarf,” Charles Horowitz, a nuclear astrophysicist from Indiana University Bloomington and one of the study’s researchers, told Space.
“If true, this provides a very new way to think about thermonuclear supernovae, and perhaps other astrophysical explosions,” he added.
Nuclear reactions can trigger supernova of white dwarfs
White dwarfs are the dim, Earth-size cores of dead stars. They form when average-sized stars have exhausted their fuel and shed their outer layers. The sun will one day become a white dwarf, as will more than 90 percent of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Past studies show that white dwarfs can die in type Ia supernovae, a type of stellar explosion. Much remains unknown about what triggers type Ia supernovae, but prior research suggests that they can happen when a white dwarf absorbs material from another star. These two celestial objects orbit each other in an arrangement called a binary star system.
In their study, Horowitz and co-author Matt Caplan, a theoretical physicist from Illinois State University, proposed that type Ia supernovae might also occur when a white dwarf undergoes the processes behind the explosion of a hydrogen bomb.
As a white dwarf cools, actinides such as uranium crystallize within its core. The atoms of these elements can spontaneously undergo nuclear fission, which releases energy and neutrons. Neutrons can collide with other atoms and break them up, repeating the process.
If the amount of actinides exceeds a critical mass, these elements can set off an explosive runaway nuclear fission chain reaction. This, in turn, can trigger nuclear fusion, where atomic nuclei fuse with each other and generate enormous amounts of energy in the process.
The pair’s calculations and computer simulations showed that a critical mass of uranium could indeed crystallize from the mixture of elements in a white dwarf. If this heavy uranium were to explode due to a nuclear chain reaction, the white dwarf would become so hot and pressurized as to trigger the fusion of lighter elements, resulting in a supernova. A hydrogen bomb also works the same way – a nuclear chain reaction is initiated to set off a nuclear fusion explosion.
Horowitz said that this mechanism could be responsible for around half of all type Ia supernovae in the cosmos. These stellar explosions should occur within a billion years of a white dwarf’s formation since uranium takes a very long time to decay.
The pair recommended running more computer simulations to definitively answer whether fission chain reactions in white dwarfs could indeed trigger nuclear fusion. Though the study was compelling, Horowitz admitted that there were plenty of physical processes that occur during a supernova, which meant there were many potential uncertainties.
For more fascinating studies about stars and space, visit Cosmic.news.
An organization of civilian volunteers dedicated to the study of
unidentified flying objects (UFOs) has issued a statement based on
decades of studying eyewitness reports. According to Mutual UFO Network,
“alien bases” may be hiding off the coast of Alaska, reports the-sun.com.
Researchers
say the deep waters in this region may hold something surprising. After
analyzing reports from the ship’s crew from 1945, they hypothesized
that alien objects could be lurking underwater, off the coast of the
state.
Alleged sightings of alien spacecraft nearly 80 years ago
have become a key point in research. Members of the organization believe
that UFOs move over water and may have “bases.”
Researchers
allege crew members on a U.S. Army transporter ship sailing past Island
Adak saw a massive UFO sized 150 to 200 feet emerge from the water.
Although these reports are nowhere to be found, UFO enthusiasts believe
the unidentified flying vehicles likely were used to commute to
different supposed alien bases hiding in the deep waters.
As
the “secret reports” of the sailors aren’t available, investigators
have taken it upon themselves to unravel the mystery surrounding the
unidentified flying objects and they believe the ocean has alien bases
that humans aren’t aware of.
Enthusiasts claim that UFOs may be
using “underwater networks” or wormholes as superhighways to travel
between points in the universe. UFO researcher Johnny Enoch added that
such objects could serve as a vehicle for aliens.
There are also
theories that other places on Earth could serve as bases for alien life.
A mountain in Seoul, South Korea is believed to be hiding a UFO,
according to Dr. Steven Greer.
An episode of the series “The
Alaska Triangle” features satellite imagery that claims to show one of
the “alien bases” in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
Meanwhile,
another researcher featured in the program showed markings from the sea
bed that she claimed could have been roadways for aliens.
While
the mysteries of the ocean remain unsolved, researchers continue their
search, trying to unravel the mystery of what may be hiding in the
depths of the waters off the coast of Alaska.
A volcanic comet the size of a mid-sized US city has
violently exploded for the second time in four months as it continues
racing toward the earth. And following the massive eruption, the cloud
of ice and gas sprouted what looked like a pair of gigantic devil horns.
The city-sized comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks, is a cryovolcanic — or
cold volcano — comet. It has a solid nucleus, with an estimated diameter
of 18.6 miles, and is filled with a mix of ice, dust and gas known as
cryomagma. The nucleus is surrounded by a fuzzy cloud of gas called a
coma, which leaks out of the comet’s interior.
When solar radiation heats the comet’s insides, the pressure builds up
and the comet violently explodes, ejaculating its ice-cold innards into
space through seeping cracks in the nucleus’s shell.
Live Science report:
On Oct. 5, astronomers detected a large outburst from 12P, after the
comet became dozens of times brighter due to the extra light reflecting
from its expanded coma, according to the British Astronomical Association (BAA), which has been closely monitoring the comet
Over the next few days, the comet’s coma expanded further and developed its “peculiar horns,” Spaceweather.com
reported. Some experts joked that the irregular shape of the coma also
makes the comet look like a science fiction spaceship, such as the
Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
The unusual shape of the comet’s coma is likely due to an irregularity in the shape of 12P’s nucleus, Richard Miles, a BAA astronomer, told Live Science after the comet’s previous eruption.
The outflowing gas is likely being partially obstructed by a notch
sticking out on the nucleus, Miles said. As the gas continues to expand
away from the comet, the irregularity in the coma’s shape becomes more
defined and noticeable, he added.
12P is currently hurtling toward the inner solar system, where it
will be slingshotted around the sun on its highly elliptical 71-year
orbit around our home star — similar to the green comet Nishimura, which
pulled off a near-identical maneuver on Sept. 17.
12P will reach its closest point to Earth on April 21, 2024, when it
may become visible to the naked eye before being catapulted back toward
the outer solar system. It will not return until 2095.
This is the second time 12P has sprouted its horns this year. On July
20, astronomers witnessed the comet blow its top for the first time in
69 years (mainly due to its outbursts being less frequent and harder to
spot during the rest of its orbit). On that occasion, 12P’s coma grew to
around 143,000 miles (230,000 km), which is around 7,000 times wider
than the comet’s nucleus.
It is unclear how large the coma grew during the most recent
eruption, but there are signs the outburst was “twice as intense” as the
previous one, the BAA noted. By now, the coma has likely shrunk back to
near its normal size.
As 12P continues to race toward the sun, there is a high probability
that we will witness several more major eruptions. It is possible that
those eruptions will be even bigger than the most recent one as the
comet soaks up more solar radiation, according to Spaceweather.com.
But 12P is not the only volcanic comet that astronomers are currently
monitoring: 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann (29P) — the most volatile volcanic
comet in the solar system — has also had several noticeable eruptions
in the last year.
In December 2022, 29P experienced its largest eruption in around 12 years, which sprayed around 1 million tons of cryomagma into space. And in April this year, for the first time ever, scientists accurately predicted one of 29P’s eruptions before it actually happened, thanks to a slight increase in the comet’s brightness in the lead-up to the icy explosion.
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