哈勃观测到两颗燃烧剧烈的超级恒星
http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2008-11/27/xinsrc_302110527081000000381.jpg这张图片上显示的是位于疏散星团Trumpler 16中的两颗巨型恒星沃尔夫·拉叶星25(WR25)和Tr16-244。这个星团置身在距离地球大约7500光年的由气体
和尘埃组成的云团——船底座星云(Carina Nebula)里。这个星云包含几颗温度极高的恒星，其中就有这两个恒星系和经过大量研究的爆炸恒星——船底座
伊塔星(Eta Carinae)。经证实，船底座伊塔星是至今为止发现的亮度最高的恒星。
这些恒星非常明亮，温度也极其高，它们以紫外线的形式喷发出它们的大部分放射物，因此它们看起来呈蓝色。它们的反应非常剧烈，燃烧氢燃料的速度比其他任何类型的恒星都快。因为燃烧的很快，它们一般都会英年早逝。虽然我们的太阳已经有46亿岁，属于中年阶段，但是这些最炙热的恒星的寿命仅有几百万或者几千万岁。天文学家之所以会对这些恒星感兴趣，是因为它们都与形成恒星的星云有关，而且它们可对星系的结构和演变产生影响。
沃尔夫·拉叶星25可能是两颗恒星中最庞大而且最有趣的一颗。2年前，在智利拉塞雷纳大学进行研究的一个国际性天文学家科研组揭开了这颗恒星系 的真实特征，发现它至少是由2颗恒星构成。更大一些的一颗恒星是沃尔夫·拉叶星(WR)，它的质量大约比我们的太阳大50多倍。强劲的恒星风把它的氢 丰富的最外层的大部分吹走，使它的质量迅速减少。而比它更普通的伴星的质量大约是这颗沃尔夫·拉叶星的质量的一半，伴星围绕它运行一周大约需要 208天。
巨型恒星一般都在致密星团里形成。这些致密星团里的单个恒星之间经常都靠的非常近，因此天文学家用望远镜很难像分辨分散的恒星一样区分它
们。哈勃太空望远镜显示，Tr16-244星系事实上是一个三合星。其中有两颗恒星彼此相距非常近，它们看起来就像一个天体。但是哈勃太空望远镜的高新
巡天照相机(Advanced Camera for Surveys)显示它们是两颗星。在几万或几十万年间，第三颗恒星一直在围绕其他两颗恒星运行。这种双星和三合星的亮度以及成分非常接近的现实，使天文学家发现巨型恒星的性质成为一大挑战。
转自新浪科技
[ 本帖最后由 _fly_ 于 2008-11-28 19:47 编辑 ] 为了无与伦比的辉煌而加速燃烧自己的生命，是否值得？
[ 本帖最后由 阿波罗神 于 2008-11-29 12:31 编辑 ] 有时候真是很值 ::42:: ::42:: ::42:: 怎么衡量值与不值呢？ 呵呵， 恐怖的美丽也就是美丽的恐怖
原文
The Carina Nebula contains the famous blue star Eta Carinae, which has the highest luminosity of any star we know. And in the same nebula live two other life-in-the-fastlane stars, and the Hubble Space Telescope has provided this gorgeous, gorgeous image of them. Until recently these colossal stars — two of our galaxy's most massive luminaries — have been shrouded in mystery, (avoiding the paparazzi, no doubt). But Hubble's Wide Field Camera has done what only HST's investigative reporting could unveil, revealing these stars greater detail than ever before. These stars are so bright and powerful that they burn through their hydrogen fuel source faster than other types of stars, leading to a ‘live fast, die young’ stellar lifestyle. And (gasp!) one of the stars has been hiding a secret companion, and (double gasp!) the other star is part of a three-some! Is that why this nebula is giving these stars "the finger?"The two stars WR 25 and Tr16-244, located within the open cluster Trumpler 16, is embedded within an immense cauldron of gas and dust that lies approximately 7,500 light-years from Earth. They produce incredible amounts of heat, emitting most of their radiation in the ultraviolet and appearing blue in color.
WR 25 is the brightest, situated near the centre of the image. The neighboring Tr16-244 is the third brightest, just to the upper left of WR 25. The second brightest, to the left of WR 25, is a low-mass star located much closer to Earth than the Carina Nebula.
WR 25 is likely to be the most massive and interesting of the two. Its true nature was revealed two years ago when an international group of astronomers led by Roberto Gamen, then at the Universidad de La Serena in Chile, discovered that it is composed of at least two stars.
It's not usual for massive stars to form in compact clusters, and often, the individual stars are physically so close to each other that it is very difficult to resolve them in telescopes as separate objects. And now, these Hubble observations have revealed that the Tr16-244 system is actually a triple star. (see image below).
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/tr16244.bmp
WR 25 and Tr16-244 are the likely sources of radiation that is causing a giant gas globule within the Carina Nebula to slowly evaporate away into space, while possibly inducing the formation of new stars within it (see separate image). The radiation is also thought to be responsible for the globule's interesting shape, prominently featured in earlier Hubble images, which looks like a hand with a ‘defiant’ finger pointing towards WR 25 and Tr16-244.
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/hubble-mamoth-long-259x580.jpg And if you can't see it, here's more detail of "the finger."
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/carina_hst-250x185.jpg
Carina nebula detail from HST.
[ 本帖最后由 q5968661 于 2008-12-7 08:30 编辑 ] 上帝的手指，有趣 为了无与伦比的辉煌而加速燃烧自己的生命，是否值得？
[ 本帖最后由 阿波罗神 于 2008-11-29 12:31 编辑 ] ...
阿波罗神 发表于 2008-11-29 12:30 http://www.astronomy.com.cn/bbs/images/common/back.gif
让我想起了莫扎特。 回复 2# 阿波罗神
当然是值得的，它们也是对星系的元素构成做出贡献最大的恒星群体。我们的存在，首先得感谢这些蓝超巨星。如果都是红矮星这样的，像我们这样的生命可能还需要10万亿年才能出现，那时的宇宙放眼望去，就只有一个星系了，其余的星系都退行到视界外了。 船底座星云快到观测时间了把 1月左右 快速燃烧，而后爆炸，向宇宙空间抛出各种物质，以致能形成行星甚至生命 漂亮的星空。。。。。 “Carina nebula detail from HST” ——哈哈哈哈~~~这手势很值得玩味啊........ 准确的说，这不是燃烧
页:
[1]