by Andy Wade » Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:46 pm
iamlucky13 wrote:Andy Wade wrote:
Is there a chance that this is formed from a catastrophic explosion such as a supernova?
Or am I just wearing my 'thicky' head today?
My impression was that the center star just happened to be sitting in a rather hydrogen-dense region. It would have accrued matter from this for a while, but then as its output increased, radiation and particle pressure would have pushed the gas away from the star, forming the bubble. I could definitely be wrong though, and there's several examples of stars casting off shapes like this in supernova explosions. I think usually though the regions are much more turbulent in appearance and filled with a variety of heavier elements. The eskimo nebula is a pretty good example.
The clarity of the bubble perimeter is also interesting. It's like there's a buildup of matter right on the line. I would tend to think that more consistent with a shockwave than a relatively static heliosheath.
Thanks for that, it helps a lot, I did wonder why they posed the question "What created this huge space bubble?", in the APOD text.
If there are a few possible explanations then it's quite understandable.
I suppose without the gas clouds to outline it, we wouldn't be able to see it at all?
If that was true, then I wonder if there are lots more of these out there than can't be seen very easily.
Oh... 'heliosheath'? Now that's a great word! I like it.
[quote="iamlucky13"][quote="Andy Wade"]
Is there a chance that this is formed from a catastrophic explosion such as a supernova?
Or am I just wearing my 'thicky' head today? :?[/quote]
My impression was that the center star just happened to be sitting in a rather hydrogen-dense region. It would have accrued matter from this for a while, but then as its output increased, radiation and particle pressure would have pushed the gas away from the star, forming the bubble. I could definitely be wrong though, and there's several examples of stars casting off shapes like this in supernova explosions. I think usually though the regions are much more turbulent in appearance and filled with a variety of heavier elements. The eskimo nebula is a pretty good example.
The clarity of the bubble perimeter is also interesting. It's like there's a buildup of matter right on the line. I would tend to think that more consistent with a shockwave than a relatively static heliosheath.[/quote]
Thanks for that, it helps a lot, I did wonder why they posed the question "What created this huge space bubble?", in the APOD text.
If there are a few possible explanations then it's quite understandable.
I suppose without the gas clouds to outline it, we wouldn't be able to see it at all?
If that was true, then I wonder if there are lots more of these out there than can't be seen very easily.
Oh... 'heliosheath'? Now that's a great word! I like it. :)