by Ann » Sat Mar 25, 2017 6:07 am
Ann wrote:
This is so interesting!
I can't help thinking of three stars that ran away from the Orion Nebula some 2-3 million years ago. The stars are
AE Aurigae (the picture is by Adam Block,
Mu Columbae (from Palomar Observatory/WikiSky), and
53 Arietis (from Sky and Telescope). These are all massive stars, 53 Arietis some 7.5 solar masses, Mu Columba about 12 solar masses, and AE Aurigae about 17 solar masses.
What about these new runaways, though? They look quite small to me.
Is anything known about their spectral classes?
Ann
Older runaway trio AE Aurigae, Mu Columba and 53 Arietis.
Source: Procyonsystems/Kissimmee Park Observatory. I just had my question mostly answered!
Monica Young of Sky & Telescope wrote:
The astronomers collected an infrared spectrum of the object, which shows that the protostar weighs in at 2 or 3 solar masses, lower than its runaway companions. (BN is probably 20 solar masses and Source I is 7 solar masses).
Wow! This makes the new runaway stars in Orion quite comparable to the older runaway trio, AE Aurigae, Mu Columba and 53 Arietis!
The proper motion of Source x in the Orion Nebula.
NASA / ESA / K. Luhman (Penn State University)
BN, the Becklin-Neugebauer object, at approximately 20 solar masses, would be perfectly comparable to, or even more massive than, 17 solar mass AE Aurigae. There would be no counterpart to 12 solar mass Mu Columba, but Source I at 7 solar masses would be an almost perfect match for 7.5 solar mass 53 Arietis. The newly discovered object, Source x, at 2 or 3 solar masses, would be a star similar to Sirius or Vega.
Wow! That makes the three new runaways a hefty lot, at (future) spectral classes late O or early B (BN), early or mid B (Source I) and early A (Source x).
Ann
[quote="Ann"]
This is so interesting!
I can't help thinking of three stars that ran away from the Orion Nebula some 2-3 million years ago. The stars are [url=http://tinyurl.com/mu3w5mt]AE Aurigae[/url] (the picture is by Adam Block, [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/thumb/3/32/Mu_Columbae.jpg/270px-Mu_Columbae.jpg]Mu Columbae[/url] (from Palomar Observatory/WikiSky), and [url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/Runaway-53Ari_edited-1.jpg]53 Arietis[/url] (from Sky and Telescope). These are all massive stars, 53 Arietis some 7.5 solar masses, Mu Columba about 12 solar masses, and AE Aurigae about 17 solar masses.
[b][size=120][color=#008000]What about these new runaways, though?[/color][/size][/b] They look quite small to me. [b][size=120][color=#0040FF]Is anything known about their spectral classes?[/color][/size][/b]
Ann[/quote]
[float=left][img2]http://www.procyonsystems.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Runaway-stars-wide_ST_edited-1-317x360-264x300.jpg[/img2][c][size=85]Older runaway trio AE Aurigae, Mu Columba and 53 Arietis.
Source: [url=http://www.procyonsystems.com/wordpress/run-away-with-these-runaway-stars/]Procyonsystems[/url]/Kissimmee Park Observatory.[/size][/c][/float]I just had my question mostly answered! :D
[quote][url=http://tinyurl.com/mn6ypv3]Monica Young of Sky & Telescope[/url] wrote:
The astronomers collected an infrared spectrum of the object, which shows that the protostar weighs in at 2 or 3 solar masses, lower than its runaway companions. (BN is probably 20 solar masses and Source I is 7 solar masses).[/quote]
Wow! This makes the new runaway stars in Orion quite comparable to the older runaway trio, AE Aurigae, Mu Columba and 53 Arietis!
[float=right][img2]http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/STScI-H-v1711a-500x400.gif[/img2][c][size=85]The proper motion of Source x in the Orion Nebula.
NASA / ESA / K. Luhman (Penn State University)[/size][/c][/float]BN, the Becklin-Neugebauer object, at approximately 20 solar masses, would be perfectly comparable to, or even more massive than, 17 solar mass AE Aurigae. There would be no counterpart to 12 solar mass Mu Columba, but Source I at 7 solar masses would be an almost perfect match for 7.5 solar mass 53 Arietis. The newly discovered object, Source x, at 2 or 3 solar masses, would be a star similar to Sirius or Vega.
Wow! That makes the three new runaways a hefty lot, at (future) spectral classes late O or early B (BN), early or mid B (Source I) and early A (Source x).
Ann