Astronomers have discovered a tiny star crashing through the Milky Way at an unbelievable pace, dragging its exoplanet along in a celestial tug-of-war.
A tiny star is making big moves — whether its accomplice likes it or not. ‘Whether its accomplice likes it or not.’ Astronomers have spotted a star just a fraction the mass of the Sun crashing through the Milky Way at an unbelievable pace. And astonishingly, it’s managed to drag its exoplanet along, as the poor world hangs on for dear life.
Exoplanets are celestial bodies that orbit stars outside our solar system.
They can be rocky, gaseous, or icy in composition and vary greatly in size.
Over 4,000 exoplanets have been discovered so far, with thousands more awaiting confirmation.
The search for exoplanets has led to a greater understanding of planetary formation and the possibility of life beyond Earth.
Scientists use various methods, including transit photometry and radial velocity measurements, to detect these distant worlds.
The Fastest-Moving Exoplanet System
As detailed in a new study published in ‘The Astronomical Journal,’ the host star is absolutely hauling it at least 1.2 million miles per hour, making it the fastest-moving exoplanet system discovered to date, according to NASA. This incredible speed is not just relative to our solar system but also in absolute terms.
S2 is a rapidly moving O-type star located in the Sagittarius constellation.
It orbits the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, completing one rotation every 15.5 years.
With a velocity of approximately 11 million kilometers per hour, S2 is one of the fastest-moving stars known to date.
Its proximity to the black hole makes it an ideal subject for studying the dynamics of stellar motion near supermassive objects.
Understanding the Star’s Speed
Of course, speed is relative. To us, the Sun is stationary. But with reference to the Milky Way, our solar system is orbiting around the galactic center at an average velocity of 450,000 miles per hour. And the Earth, relative to the Sun, moves at around 67,000 miles per hour. Our perspective of the hyperspeed star may be a little skewed. In reality, it could be traveling much faster than it appears, if it’s moving towards or away from our planet.
The Discovery and Its Implications
Spotting the star and its exoplanet is a remarkable discovery. Because they have no luminosity of their own, exoplanets are often outshined by stars, if not entirely lost to the lightless realm of space. Both objects were first spotted back in 2011 using microlensing, a technique that searches for distortions of light caused by the gravity of nearby objects.
Confirming the Findings
While the findings are promising, there’s still some additional detective work needed to put this case to bed. To be certain the newly identified star is part of the system that caused the 2011 signal, astronomers would like to look again in another year and see if it moves the right amount and in the right direction to confirm it came from the point where they detected the signal.
