An outside squad of astronomers has conducted some telling observations of the atmosphere of a crimson giant star . The wiz is the same mass as our Sun and this psychoanalysis could be used to estimate what the Sun might see like in about 5 billion years .
The researchers used ALMA ( the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array ) to study W Hydrae , which is located 320 scant - class from us . W Hydrae is classified as an Asymptotic Giant Branch ( AGB ) star , a coolheaded , bright , old object slowly miss tidy sum due to its stellar winds . The observations are reported inNature Astronomy .
“ For us it ’s important to study not just what red giants depend like , but how they change and how they seed the wandflower with the factor that are the ingredients of sprightliness . Using the antennas of Alma in their in high spirits - solvent contour we can now make the most detailed observations ever of these cool and exciting stars , ” extend author Wouter Vlemmings , from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden , said in astatement .
take W Hydrae has also give the squad a coup d’oeil into the likely future of the Sun . Although similar in mass , the AGB star is much , much big . It has a diam twice as wide as Earth ’s range around the Sun , and if it was located at the center of the Solar System , would extend close to the orbit of Mars .
The observations also gave the squad a surprise . They witness a hopeful bit on the surface suggesting that the star is not just passively mature , but remains active , although the precise nature of such activities is not clean at the moment .
“ Our measure of the bright point suggest there are potent jar waves in the star ’s atmosphere that reach eminent temperatures than are presage by current theoretical models for AGB wiz , ” added co - author Theo Khouri , also at Chalmers .
Stars manufacture several element that are crucial for life like carbon , oxygen , and nitrogen . Since these objects are highly tumescent , the material that makes them is only weakly constipate by somberness . Stellar winds can incite this material into outer space where it ends up take form new stars and planets .
“ It ’s humbling to count at our image of W Hydrae and see its size compare to the celestial orbit of the Earth . We are born from material make in stars like this , so for us it ’s exciting to have the challenge of sympathize something which so tells us both about our origin and our futurity , ” stated Elvire De Beck , from Chalmers too .
