Astronomers working with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) interference instrument installed at the European Southern Observatory (Chile) recently discovered the largest yellow star ever found. The object was so large that it immediately took the first place among the 10 most huge stars previously found in the visible part of the Universe.
The newly discovered star was named HR 5171 A. It is in the constellation Centaurus (Centaurus). If we compare its size with the size of our Sun, then it will be 1300 times larger in diameter compared to our star. Thanks to the interference device, scientists were also able to determine that this object is part of a binary system.
The second star of this binary system turned out to be significantly smaller than the described supergiant, around which it turns. Two stars are so close that, according to scientists, they may even almost touch the surface of each other. Based on the findings and observations, astronomers concluded that HR 5171 A is at a very early stage of its development.
The scientific work was carried out under the direction of astronomer Olivier Chenot from the Cote d'Azur Observatory in Nice. He and his team determined that the brightness of HR 5171 is about 1 million times higher than the brightness of our Sun, while the star itself is about 50 percent more than the famous Betelgeuse star.
“Further observation of the star also showed that it is very close to its binary neighbor, which turned out to be a very big surprise for us. Two stars are so close to each other that they actually touch each other, and the whole system looks like one giant peanut, ”explains Chenot.
In order to be able to detect a new space object, the expert and his team used data on the received light of the system from various telescopes using optical interferometry. In addition, astronomical data collected over the past 60 years has been used in this study. Such efforts allowed astronomers to find a very rare star belonging to the class of hypergiants. By the way, at the moment only about 12 such stars have been found inside the Milky Way.
The study showed that the companion star passes before HR 5171 A once every 1300 days and at the same time its temperature can be 5000 degrees Celsius.
“The companion star we found is a very important object in this binary system, as it can have its influence on the further fate of HR 5171 A, for example, cleaning its upper layers from the old material and thus having a direct influence on its evolution "- supplements Chenot.
The binary system itself is located about 12,000 light years from Earth. This close distance allowed the Very Large telescope (consisting of four large survey and four small tracking telescopes, which together make the VLT the most high-tech telescope in the world at the moment), is relatively easy to observe this space object.
The article is based on materials .
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