While exoplanets these days are a unwashed breakthrough , when the first single were discovered in 1992 they challenged our theories because they were found orb a pulsar , the remnant star of a supernova , and not a star like our own Sun . Could they have hold out the stellar destruction ? Did they form after the blowup ? Now , after 25 years , stargazer may finally have some clues .
The new research , publish inMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , has identify a pulsar , Geminga , that is accumulating material as it moves through the Milky Way . allot to the researchers ’ calculations , there might be just enough material to form some Earth - size planet around this object , potentially ending the mystery story .
“ We started calculate for the sensitive materials presently after the pulsar planets were announced , " carbon monoxide gas - generator Dr Jane Greaves , of the University of Cardiff , said in astatement . " We had one target , the Geminga pulsar located 800 light-colored - years away in the constellation of Gemini . Astronomers thought they ’d bump a planet there in 1997 , but by and by discounted it because of glitches in the timing . So it was much later when I went through our thin data and try out to make an image . ”
To see what was going on , the researchers had to apply scope able to detect physical object much colder than wizard . They used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and conducted several observations with different instruments to make certain that the detections were true and not a trick of the lighter .
The sign keep an eye on come along to be genuine and researcher have figure that the “ interstellar gritstone ” captured by the star is equivalent to a few times the mass of the Earth .
“ This seems to be like a curtain call - wave – Geminga is motivate incredibly fast through our Galaxy , much faster than the speed of speech sound in interstellar throttle . We call back material gets overtake up in the bowknot - wave , and then some solid atom drift in towards the pulsar , ” Greaves tally .
Greaves , along with co - author Wayne Holland of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh , is looking into a follow - up field with theAtacama big Millimeter Array(ALMA ) , to confirm that the blob of stuff seen truly belongs to the pulsar . If ALMA confirms the detective work , the researcher would like to face at other young pulsars that might be start to form planets .
The find of the planets around the pulsar PSR B1257 + 12 back in 1992 suggested that planets might shape after a lead dies , and this research is an interesting development about a new planetary nativity after an original whiz system of rules is gone .
The research is being presented by Dr Greaves at theNational Astronomy Meeting , at the University of Hull , UK , this week .
