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Artificial intelligence helped astronomers to observe what could be the first known star explosion case of interacting with a black hole, a new study reports. ; | Credit: Melissa Weiss/CFA
Astronomers have noted what could be the first known case of a massive star explosion by interacting with a black hole, marking a discovery that could reveal a whole new stars explosion class.
The event called the SN 2023ZKD was first spotted in 2023. In July Zwicky Transition Object in California. Located in a galaxy with a low -on -star formation, about 730 million light -years, it was detected by a new system of artificial intelligence (AI), built to mark unusual cosmic events in real time. The early warning allowed telescopes around the world and space to start observation immediately by capturing the event from its earliest stages, the report states.
“2023ZKD shows some of the clearest signs that we saw about a huge star communicating with the companion before the explosion,” says Harvard University Masachusetts Astronomical Astronomical Astronomical Assistant and Co-Write of the New Research. “We think it can be a class of hidden explosions all classes that will help us discover.”
Initially, the SN 2023ZKD appeared as a typical supernova: a bright flash signaling the death of a massive star that slowly disappears over time. However, a few months later, astronomers noticed that it brightened again. Looking at archival data, they found that before the explosion, the system gradually increased in brightness by about 1500 days – by about four years. Such a long -term pre -operating phase is rarely seen, indicating that the star was intense gravitational stress.
Investigators say the most likely explanation is that the star was locked in orbit with a black hole. Evidence of light curves and spectra shows that the star has suffered two main eruptions in a few years before she died, releasing large quantities of gas. The first peak of the explosion of the explosion occurred when a wave of explosion struck a low density material, and the second peak months later caused a slower, constant collision with a dense, disc -shaped cloud.
Over time, the severity of the black hole could destabilize the star, pushing it into a collapse.
Another option, the team thinks is that the black hole destroyed the star until it could explode naturally. In this case, the garbage would have caused the supernova light as it crashed the surrounding gas. In any scenario, the consequences would be one, heavier black hole.
SN 2023ZKD “So far, the strongest proof is that such close interactions can actually determine the star,” said Alexander Gagliano, an investigator of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and the main interaction, in the leader of the study.
“We knew for a while that the biggest mass stars are in binary parts, but catch one change in the masses before it burst is incredibly rare.”
The results emphasize how the AI can notice rare space events in time to study in detail, says astronomers. They also note the upcoming premises such as Vera C. Rubin Observatory, will play over the next decade for the ability to document the entire southern sky every few nights of its advantage in the Chilean Andes Mountains.
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Along with real -time detection, Rubin Observatory observations will allow astronomers to identify and explore more of these rare, complex events to create a clearer picture of how mass stars live and die in binary systems.
“Now we are starting an era where we can automatically catch these rare events when they occur not only after the fact,” Gagliano said in a statement. “This means that we can finally start joining points between how the star lives and how it dies, and it is extremely interesting.”
This study is described in the document published by the Astrophysical Journal on Wednesday (August 13).