In reality, the object is not that far from the Milky Way – it is only 400 light years away from Earth. (Image source: Adobe Firefly, AI-generated)
A few weeks ago, an object that could not yet be precisely identified was discovered relatively close to Earth, heading towards the centre of our Milky Way at extremely high speed (via Space.com).
It goes by the catchy (!) name CWISE J124909.08+362116.0
and was created by members of the project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9
spotted. They are generally concerned with the search for stars and objects in the immediate vicinity of our sun.
Trans-Neptunian celestial bodies, i.e. those located beyond the orbit of Neptune, are also the focus of some lay scientists.
But back to the pleasant-sounding object called CWISE J124909.08+362116.0. What is it all about?
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Star or brown dwarf?
This is probably a so-called Brown dwarf
This is a celestial body that occupies a special position between stars and planets. It is also often referred to as a failed star
(a failed star).
But the researchers are not yet completely sure, since the determination of the mass (about eight percent of the mass of the sun and 80 times the mass of Jupiter) has shown that the object moves exactly on the border between a star and a brown dwarf.
We discovered a very low-mass object, right on the boundary between a star and a brown dwarf, that has extreme velocity and is moving so fast that it may actually not be bound to the Milky Way.
Adam Burgasser, University of California San Diego
Although brown dwarfs have many times the mass of Jupiter, it is not enough to initiate hydrogen fusion, as occurs in real stars. However, they are heavy enough for deuterium fusion.
Almost two million km/h
What is exciting is the already mentioned high speed of CWISE J124909.08+362116.0. It is almost two million kilometers per hour.
Specifically, there are a maximum of 1.74 million km/h or 483 km/s. And that at a distance from Earth of only
400 light years.
Never before have researchers discovered such a small object traveling at such a high speed.
It is racing directly towards our galactic core, Sagittarius A* – a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way.
Now the researchers are asking themselves how CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 could become so fast?
There are some theories:
- The object could have been ejected into space by Sagittarius A* and is now on its way back.
- A white dwarf (a small, very compact old star) may have fed on the object, eventually leading to a supernova, which in turn accelerated its explosion.
- The object could have been ejected from a globular cluster containing black holes.
It is also conceivable that CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 does not originate from our Milky Way, but from outside. However, the researchers consider this scenario to be very unlikely.
The scientists also find the radial orbit of the object remarkablewhich, unlike high-velocity stars, is not chaotic or particularly inclined.
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Are such celestial bodies rare?
This cannot be said with any certainty. Only a few high-speed stars have been discovered so far, and objects such as CWISE J124909.08+362116.0 have not been discovered at all.
Due to their nature, they are difficult to find. They emit very weak radiation in the infrared range. It is therefore conceivable that there are many more of them in the vastness of space that we just cannot see.
