(ORDO NEWS) — Similar to the “strange radio ring” object J0624-6948 turned out to be a supernova, located in intergalactic space, near the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The vast majority of stars in the universe are born and die in their galaxies. They form clusters, between which vast and desert territories of intergalactic space stretch.
Stars and planets are extremely rare there, thrown into the void by a random game of gravity. Not surprisingly, it was only recently that astronomers were able to observe the first such star that died in a supernova explosion.
The team of Western Sydney University professor Miroslav Filipovic was working with the ASKAP radio telescope when they discovered an unusual object J0624-6948 near the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the dwarf galaxies that is satellites of the Milky Way.
At first glance, it looked like another ” strange radio circle ” (Odd Radio Circle, OCRs) – a mysterious astronomical object that looks like a dim expanding ring in the radio range.
Position J0624–6948: above is the Milky Way, below are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
What these “radio circles” are is unknown, but scientists have noticed several signs characteristic of them, including their size: as a rule, OCRs cover entire galaxies.
The object J0624-6948 does not correspond to this in any way, it is gaining about 155 light-years across and also does not form such a clear ring. In addition, the radio emission spectrum of J0624–6948 also differs from conventional OCRs. Therefore, Australian astronomers considered alternative options.
“The most suitable explanation turned out to be the remnants of a supernova, a star that exploded near the Large Magellanic Cloud, according to the Type Ia supernova mechanism ,” says Prof. Filipović.
“Our calculations indicate its age in the range of 2200-7100 years.” If the calculations of Australian scientists are correct, then J0624-6948 turned out to be the first supernova known to us in intergalactic space.
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