The star IRAS 19312 + 1950 might not have a fancy name , but it is a puzzle stargazer have been trying to solve for many geezerhood .
The star was in the beginning classified as an old red giant , but a young field led by Martin Cordiner from NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center suggests quite the reverse : The object is a protostar , a star still in the making .
“ stargazer recognize this object as remarkable around the year 2000 and have been try ever since to adjudicate how far along its development is , ” order Cordiner in astatement . “ We think the star is belike in an embryonic stage , getting near the conclusion of its accretion stage – the full stop when it pulls in novel stuff to fuel its growth . ”
IRAS 19312 + 1950 is a massive ( 10 prison term the batch of the Sun ) , oxygen - rich object , located 12,000 idle - years from Earth . There were several clues indicating its ripe age .
The object was spotted emitting two type of masers , herculean wireless pharos that are physically the microwave equivalent of a laser . These maser are generated by excited molecules emitting radiation syndrome at very specific frequency . The masers associated with IRAS 19312 + 1950 are generate by atomic number 14 - oxide and hydroxide molecules , both near always seen around sure-enough whiz .
But when Cordiner and his colleagues looked at the star usingESA ’s Herschel Space Observatory , they found the telling star sign of a child sensation .
IRAS 19312 + 1950 is environ by a with child cloud that ’s rich in chemical typical of stellar greenhouse . Although no nursery were spotted around , astronomers know that sometimes stars form in themiddle of nowhere .
In their paper , put out in theAstrophysical Journal , the scientists have combined the Herschel observance with datum from NASA ’s Spitzer Space Telescope . They were able to spot powerful winds coming from the wizard and ice grains very near the hotshot . These would not be base in older target .
unseasoned or sure-enough , IRAS 19312 + 1950 is not your modal objective , with researchers still unsure how such a young object sports the maser features .
Steven Charnley , co - author of the paper , added : “ No matter how one looks at this objective , it ’s gripping , and it has something novel to severalize us about the life cps of stars . ”
