Astronomers are rather excited to find what they believe is a neutron star that has survived a powerful supernova that was first detected in 1987, and if confirmed, would become the youngest one known to mankind.
Surviving a Powerful Event
In a report by Futurism, a team of astronomers observed what they believe is the youngest neutron star 170,000 light-years away from Earth in a satellite galaxy of our very own Milky Way, which is known as SN 1987A.
When the star was first detected until now, experts are still uncertain whether it was able to survive the event and didn't collapse to form a black hole.
Nevertheless, astronomers published a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal last week that it may have survived after all--and now, a team of astronomers made a discovery supporting it.
If proven, the newly discovered neutron star will be the youngest one known by humanity, beating the current youngest supernova remnant is Cassiopeia A, which is 330 years old that can be found 11,000 light-years away from Earth and can be found within our galaxy.
Read Also : NASA Discovers Jupiter Has Ammonia-Water Solution Leading to 'Shallow Lightning' and 'Mushballs'
Discovering the Youngest Star
So, how did the team of astronomers find this possibly youngest neutron star?
According to Astronomy, the team analyzed a high-resolution image of what was left behind SN 1987A after the supernova event, captured by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) located in Chile.
While checking the images, they found a hot "blob" within the core of the supernova.
The scientists believe that the blob was most likely a shroud of glass surrounding the neutron star. Without it, the astronomers would unlikely to discover the star in its center since it's incredibly dense and small, so it cannot be detected directly.
"We were very surprised to see this warm blob made by a thick cloud of dust in the supernova remnant," said Mikako Matsuura, an expert from Cardiff University who made the discovery using ALMA.
Matsuura further explained that they believed something is heating the dust, making it shine, which is why they suggested there could be a neutron star hiding inside it.
The team hypothesized that the newborn star has a temperature of around 5 million degrees Celsius, which is why it was extremely bright.
Waiting for Confirmation
"In spite of the supreme complexity of a supernova explosion and the extreme conditions reigning in the interior of a neutron star, the detection of a warm blob of dust is a confirmation of several predictions," explained Dany Page, an astrophysicist from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the lead author of the paper.
The team of astronomers, as well as the public, will have to wait for a long time before experts can confirm whether there is indeed a neutron star in the middle of the blob and whether it is indeed the youngest neutron star to date.
To confirm, experts will have to wait until the shroud of gas and dust surrounding it dissipate so they could prove that the young millennial star does exist.
Read Also : WATCH! NASA-Monitored 'Asteroid Tsunami' Could Possibly 'Send 400 Feet Waves' into the US Coast
This article is owned by TechTimes.
Written by: Nhx Tingson
