Runaway Star Zeta Ophiuchi by Chandra Observatory
The sun and all of the Milky Way’s stars are moving in orbit around the center of our galaxy. It’s more or less orderly, but there are local movements within this general stream of stars, too. In recent decades, astronomers have identified some Milky Way stars that are moving faster than expected, or in a direction that seems unusual. They use the term runaway star to describe these renegades.
Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust. Multiple stars are born from a single cloud, and so many Milky Way stars move through space in loose associations, or more tightly bound open star clusters. By tracking the motions of a runaway star, astronomers can sometimes see which stellar association it once belonged to, before something happened to kick the star into fast motion, on a path through space different from its original cluster or association.
Astronomers point to two possible mechanisms for runaway stars:
The first involves two binary star systems – two systems, each containing two stars – that pass close to each other. The encounter can disrupt both systems, so that one or more stars are ejected at relatively high speeds.
The second involves a supernova explosion in a multiple star system. These powerful explosions can propel associated stars that didn’t explode along new paths, at much-higher speeds.
One runaway star is GD 50,and another is Zeta Ophiuchi.
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Team Bluestar Planetarium
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