US 708,, a white dwarf has broken our record speed for an such object. White stars are small and extremely dense stars that can be as large as the planet. This star is formed after a low mass star exhausts all of its nuclear fuel and outer layers. Although a white star might have the same mass as the Sun, it will only be half the Earth’s size. A team of scientists representing the UK, China, Germany, China and the Netherlands published their results in Science, an academic journal. (citation below). Scientists at Queen’s University Belfast have broken the record for galactic speed with an ultra-fast unbound star. (Credit ESA/Hubble and NASA) The white, rapidly moving star will soon leave the galaxy. It isn’t held back by gravity. Scientists at Queen’s think that US 708 once belonged to a binary Star (a system of stars consisting of two stars) which also contained a huge white dwarf star. According to them, the star that became a “thermonuclear meganova” and then exploded set off a blast of energy which sent US 708 through space at very high speeds. Scientists will be able to better understand double-star systems, which eventually lead to thermonuclear blasts by discovering US . Astronomers have used Type Ia Supernovae (thermonuclear supernovae) for a long time to determine the distance between galaxies. This measurement helps us understand how our Universe expands. Type Ia Supernova explosions are extremely powerful and bright. They can sometimes shine beyond entire galaxies. These supernova explosions are thought to only occur once in two centuries. The Astrophysics Centre at Queen’s University and Dr. Rubina Kokotak were both part of an international team that made this ground-breaking discovery with data from the Pan-STARRS1 telescope at Mount Haleakala on Maui. To determine 3-D motion and speed of the star across the sky, they analyzed past 59 year data. Dr. Kotak stated that it was very satisfying to be able to contribute to such an important discovery. It is also a wonderful example of Queen Elizabeth’s dedication to excellence and the advancement of knowledge to benefit society. This brings us closer to solving type Ia’s puzzle.” Stephan Geier (a European Southern Observatory Fellow) said that several types of stars were suspected in the supernova explosion. None of these were confirmed until now. We have now found a suspect on the loose, bearing traces of the crime scene.” Citation. “The fastest unbound star in the Galaxy ejected from a thermonuclear Supernova,” S. Geier. F. Furst. E. Ziegerer. T. Kupfer. U. Heber. Science. Published 6 March, 2015. DOI: 10.1126/science.1259063. Video: Type Ia Supernovae
