These unusual cosmic explosions that intrigue scientists | EUROtoday
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C ‘is a phenomenon that scientists don’t but handle to clarify. A spatial explosion of a specific nature was noticed in 2018, at 200 million mild years, studies the BBC, this Sunday, May 4. This crash has gained in mild depth at full pace, far more than what we may count on for a basic star explosion – a supernova – earlier than disappearing. Named AT2018Cow, this superb explosion – which was roughly the identical dimension as our photo voltaic system – was shortly nicknamed “the cow”.
Since then, astronomers have detected a handful of different comparable occasions. They are described as “fast blue optical transients” (LFBOTS). The letter L refers to their brightness whereas their blue colour outcomes from the terribly excessive temperature of the explosion, of round 40,000 levels Celsius. The o and the t of the acronym, themselves, discuss with the truth that these occasions seem within the spectrum of seen mild (optics) and that they’re brief (transient).
An important index on darkish matter
Scientists first thought that the LFBots have been stars that may have tried to blow up earlier than imploding, forming a black gap of their hearts, which might then have consumed them from the within. But one other concept is regularly gaining floor: these eruptions may happen when an unknown class of medium -sized black holes, or black holes of intermediate mass, swallows the celebs that method it an excessive amount of.
Read too Elon Musk and Mars: the specter of the flight aheadIf this concept seems to be precise, this would offer important proof of the existence of this type of black gap, a lacking hyperlink between the smallest and the most important black gap within the universe. Because if astronomers are moderately satisfied of the existence of those objects, nobody has but supplied definitive proof. It would even be a vital index to partially clarify the origin of one of many best mysteries within the universe, darkish matter, which might represent greater than 80 % of the mass of the universe.
A phenomenon nonetheless very uncommon
To uncover
The kangaroo of the day
Answer
Daniel Perley, astronomer at John-Morals University in Liverpool, nonetheless explains to the BBC that to find out with certainty what these “fast blue optical transients” are, a a lot wider pattern is critical. Data from 100 of them could be supreme. “Unfortunately, they are very rare,” mentioned the scientist.
However, it will be doable to get nearer to this determine subsequent 12 months because of the launch of an Israeli orbital telescope, the ultraviolet transient astronomy satellite tv for pc, which ought to have the ability to detect different LFBots because of its very massive field of regard. While ready for these new knowledge, the thriller persists round these superb area explosions.
https://www.lepoint.fr/astronomie/ces-etranges-explosions-cosmiques-qui-intriguent-les-scientifiques-04-05-2025-2588822_1925.php