Astronomers unmask a supernova impostor
A distant star has captured astronomers' attention over the past decade, teasing them with indications that it will soon explode as a supernova. But new research shows that something else entirely is behind the star's outbursts. Rather than an impending catastrophic explosion, a previously unseen companion may be responsible for the star's behavior.
Astronomers have been watching the distant star AT 2016blu for the past decade, as it periodically exhibited outbursts that seemed reminiscent of an impending supernova explosion. However, new research suggests that these outbursts are caused by a binary companion rather than an imminent supernova. Named a luminous blue variable star, AT 2016blu is about 29 million light-years away from Earth and is about 33 times as massive as the Sun.
Stars of this size typically end their lives in brilliant supernova explosions, leading astronomers to believe that AT 2016blu was on the verge of such an explosion. But the latest study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, reveals that the star's outbursts are actually a result of material accreting onto a compact object, like a black hole or a neutron star.
This is the first known case of a luminous blue variable star with a compact companion, and it marks a high-mass X-ray binary system. Through a combination of new X-ray observations and serendipitous past data, researchers have confirmed the presence of an X-ray source during the predicted outbursts, which are consistent with material accretion onto a compact companion.
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