Stargazing by Nirmala Nataraj

Author:Nirmala Nataraj [Nye, Bill and Nataraj, Nirmala]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

ZETA OPHIUCHI

The blue star in the middle of this image is Zeta Ophiuchi, which is moving through an enormous cloud of gas and dust. Zeta Ophiuchi is believed to have once been part of a binary star system. When its partner died, Zeta Ophiuchi was suddenly free of the other star’s gravitational field and rocketed out into space like a cannon. The star would be even brighter if it were not obscured by dust clouds. Stellar winds travel from this star at 54,000 miles (86,905 kilometers) an hour: speedy enough to break the sound barrier in the material around it. As winds flow out from the star, they ripple the dust around it, creating a bow shock that is only visible in infrared light. A bow shock is similar to a sonic boom, which can occur when an airplane or other fast-traveling vehicle moves faster than the speed of sound. The area around the bow shock ripples out at infrared wavelengths and creates an arc. The bow shock occurs when two different areas of gas and dust collide, one that is faster-moving and one that is slower. Our own Sun has fairly slow stellar winds, so it’s unlikely to create a bow shock when it meets pockets of interstellar gas.

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