Canadian astronomers at the University of British Columbia have discovered that the supermassive white dwarf Gaia EDR3 has separated from the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus, about 153 light-years from Earth. The extinct star flies into space at a speed of about 10 kilometers per second. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Astrophysics.
White dwarfs appear when sun-sized stars run out of hydrogen fuel in their cores. When the reactions stop, the energy that allows the star to resist the internal force of its own gravity is also lost. In this case, the outer layers of the star swell 10-100 times and the core either turns into a white dwarf or, if the star is at least 1.4 times more massive than the Sun, turns into a black hole or neutron star.
According to astronomers, Gaia EDR3 is a celestial body 1.3 times larger than the Sun. Scientists noted that the extinct star could escape from the Hyades system due to two factors: the low density of the cluster and some external influence that could be caused by the impact of other clusters or the movement of huge gas clouds between these clusters.
The Gaia EDR3 case suggests that white dwarfs leave their clusters more frequently than previously thought, the researchers said.
Earlier astronomers to create a “vampire” star that shoots out clots of matter.