Newborn Star’s ‘Heartbeat’ Seen by X-ray Telescopes Using the X-ray eyes of three space telescopes, astronomers have captured a behind-the-scenes look at the dramatic behavior of a newborn sun-like star, as it spins rapidly and churns out powerful and long-lasting eruptions. The infant star, called V1647 Orionis, is known as a protostar, and was formed by clouds of surrounding gas and dust. The star is located 1,300 light-years away in McNeil’s Nebula, which is a bustling hotspot of star formation in the constellation of Orion. V1647 rotates once each day, which is around 30 times faster than the sun, and has two active X-ray emitting spots, where gas flows from a surrounding disk and feeds the growing star. Full Article

Newborn Star’s ‘Heartbeat’ Seen by X-ray Telescopes

Using the X-ray eyes of three space telescopes, astronomers have captured a behind-the-scenes look at the dramatic behavior of a newborn sun-like star, as it spins rapidly and churns out powerful and long-lasting eruptions.

The infant star, called V1647 Orionis, is known as a protostar, and was formed by clouds of surrounding gas and dust. The star is located 1,300 light-years away in McNeil’s Nebula, which is a bustling hotspot of star formation in the constellation of Orion.

V1647 rotates once each day, which is around 30 times faster than the sun, and has two active X-ray emitting spots, where gas flows from a surrounding disk and feeds the growing star.

Full Article