Unfortunately, VY Canis Majoris is about to die. New images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory show how vast eruptions on its surface have formed loops, arcs and knots of material spraying out into space.
Astronomers originally believed that supergiants lost their material in a simple and spherical way, but these images show that the process is anything but clean and tidy. Each loop and arc surrounding the star can be traced back to tremendous outbursts that occurred over the last 1,000 years. VY Canis Majoris is normally losing material all the time, but during these outbursts, the star loses 10 times as much mass as its regular rate.
The outbursts probably originated from massive spots on the star’s surface, similar to the magnetic field, flares and coronal mass ejections from the Sun, but on a vastly larger scale. VY Canis Majoris has enough of magnetic field to generate these massive outflows.
Original Source: Hubble News Release
The Search for Life in our Solar System leads seekers to strange places. From our…
Few things in life are certain. But it seems highly probable that people will explore…
Space debris is a growing problem, so companies are working on ways to mitigate it.…
Few space images are as iconic as those of the Horsehead Nebula. Its shape makes…
It stands to reason that stars formed from the same cloud of material will have…
We go about our daily lives sheltered under an invisible magnetic field generated deep inside…