Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Gravitational collapse of a massive star, resulting in a Type II supernova. Gravitational collapse is the contraction of an astronomical object due to the influence of its own gravity, which tends to draw matter inward toward the center of gravity. [1] Gravitational collapse is a fundamental mechanism for structure formation in the universe.
It would arise when a star "in the transitional range (~8 to 10 solar masses) between white dwarf formation and iron core-collapse supernovae", and with a degenerate O+Ne+Mg core, [139] imploded after its core ran out of nuclear fuel, causing gravity to compress the electrons in the star's core into their atomic nuclei, [140] [141] leading to a ...
About half of all the stars in the sky are part of binary systems, with two stars orbiting each other. Some binary stars orbit each other so closely that they share the same atmosphere, giving the system a peanut shape. While most such contact binary systems are stable, some do become unstable and either eject one partner or eventually merge.
Estimates range from 10,000 years to a maximum of 140,000 years. Betelgeuse appears to undergo short periods of heavy mass loss and is a runaway star moving rapidly through space, so comparisons of its current mass loss to the total lost mass are difficult. [18] [98]
In 1939, it was estimated at 0.7 solar masses, called the TOV limit. In 1996, a different estimate put this upper mass in a range from 1.5 to 3 solar masses. [3] The maximum observed mass of neutron stars is about 2.14 M ☉ for PSR J0740+6620 discovered in September, 2019. [4] In the theory of general relativity, a black hole could exist of ...
The W51 nebula in Aquila - one of the largest star factories in the Milky Way (August 25, 2020). Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space, sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming regions", collapse and form stars. [1]
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
In these stars, the first time that conditions support pair production instability, the situation runs out of control. The collapse proceeds to efficiently compress the star's core; the overpressure is sufficient to allow runaway nuclear fusion to burn it in several seconds, creating a thermonuclear explosion. [5]