Scientists claim that an extraterrestrial rock found in Egypt more than 25 years ago may be the first evidence on Earth of a rare “supernova” explosion.
Researchers analyzed the “Hypatia” stone and found that its chemical composition and its inscriptions indicate that it contains parts of the dust and gas cloud surrounding the “supernova”, according to the newspaper “Daily Mail”.
These stellar outbursts, some of the most energetic in the universe, occur when a dense white dwarf star devours another nearby star.
Hypatia stone
Experts said that the mixture of dust and gas from such a “supernova” may gradually turn into a solid over billions of years, before the formation of the body from which “Hypatia” came.
“We can say, ‘The supernova occurred because gas atoms from the explosion were captured in the surrounding dust cloud which eventually formed Hypatia’s parent body,'” said geochemist Jan Kramers from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
How was this stone formed?
The researchers analyzed a small sample of the stone to find clues about where the stone was located and how it formed. They found that it contains a low level of silicon, chromium and manganese, which means it is unlikely to have formed in the inner solar system.
It also contains high levels of copper, sulfur, iron, phosphorous and vanadium. Scientists noted that this mixture is completely different from any object found in the Milky Way.
Their analysis also ruled out the possibility that the stone formed from a red giant star or a Type II supernova, ruling out the second possibility because the rock contains more iron than silicon and calcium. Therefore, experts believe that this stone is a remnant of a Type Ia “supernova”.
“If this hypothesis is correct, the Hypatia stone would be the first concrete evidence on Earth of a Type I supernova explosion,” Kramers said.
The researchers analyzed 15 elements in the stone and found that an identical number of them would have been expected if the object had come from the explosion of a dense white dwarf star.
black hole pictures
As a result of the “supernova” the formation of black holes. And a few days ago, images of the invisible black hole in the center of the Milky Way were revealed. A week ago, an international team of astronomers revealed the first image of a supermassive black hole in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, a cosmic body known as “Sagittarius”.
The image does not show the black hole itself because it is completely dark, but it does depict the glowing gas surrounding the phenomenon, which is 4 million phases more massive than the sun in a bright ring of curved light.
The head of the Jordanian Astronomical Society, Ammar Al-Sakji, confirmed in an interview with Al-Arabi from the Jordanian capital, Amman, that understanding black holes requires understanding the life cycle of stars, which begins through the rotation of cosmic dust, which leads to the process of accumulation, and due to gravity, the process of accumulation begins until A star forms, in a process that lasts billions of years.
He pointed out that there are two main forces in stars, the first is gravity, which is a basic force that comes from the outside towards the inside, and the second is the force of nuclear reactions that begin in the interior of stars, which are fusion reactions (the merging of elements into heavier elements). Al-Sakji pointed out that this process is responsible for the interaction between nuclear forces and gravity.
But nuclear fuel starts to run low after a long time, which reduces nuclear reactions. Then the forces of gravity begin to take over, which leads to the collapse of the star, and the explosion of a “supernova” or supernova occurs.
Al-Sakji explained that the black hole is formed as a result of a “supernova” explosion if the escape velocity of the celestial body is greater than the speed of light, but if the speed was less, a neutron star is formed, pointing out that black holes are present in almost all galaxies, and are responsible for the attraction in Galactic center and lead to the cohesion of its nuclei, as they are important in the dynamic system of galaxies.