{"id":61624,"date":"2024-07-29T10:45:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T10:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/650bddc5-5d41-4d8c-ad2b-18f675298246"},"modified":"2024-07-29T11:39:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T11:39:47","slug":"blitzars-dark-stars-and-black-dwarfs-5-hypothetical-stars-astronomers-have-yet-to-discover","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/blitzars-dark-stars-and-black-dwarfs-5-hypothetical-stars-astronomers-have-yet-to-discover\/","title":{"rendered":"Blitzars, dark stars and black dwarfs. 5 hypothetical stars astronomers have yet to discover"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\">There could be dozens of strange stellar objects still left to discover. Here are some of the strangest hypothetical stars thought to exist. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Ezzy Pearson\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Monday, 29 July 2024 at 10:45 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p class=\"p3\">Astronomers have spent many years wondering about what the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/first-stars\/\">first stars<\/a> were like, and what will happen to the last ones several trillion years from now, coming up with many hypothetical celestial objects in the process.<\/p><p>Some are real stellar oddballs, and might be considered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/what-are-the-weirdest-stars-in-the-universe\/\">weirdest stars in the Universe<\/a>.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">There have been several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/beginners-guide-stars\/\">stars<\/a> that were thought to exist, only to later be proven impossible as we came to better understand the laws that govern the Universe. Others turn out to be something else entirely.<\/p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/lc4tjMcD-KmZBajhC.js\"\/><p>In 1975, two physicists suggested a new type of hybrid star, a red giant with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/neutron-star\/\">neutron star<\/a> hidden inside it, which they named a Thorne-Zytkow Object ( an artist's impression of which is pictured at the top of this page).<\/p><p><em><strong>More strange space science:<\/strong><\/em><\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/facts-about-space-universe\"><em><strong>9 of the most mind-blowing facts about the Universe<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/what-are-the-biggest-objects-in-the-universe\"><em><strong>What are the biggest objects in the Universe?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/astronomers-listen-sound-stars\"><em><strong>How astronomers listen to the sound of stars<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>In June 2014, nearly 40 years later, a group of scientists researching red giants using the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile discovered what they believe might be one of these strange stellar bodies.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">In 1784, it was suggested that some stars could be so massive that they would have enough gravity to stop light from escaping. It wasn\u2019t until Einstein proposed the general theory of relativity in 1915 that the idea of such stars was superseded by black holes.<\/p><p class=\"p3\">With more powerful telescopes and new technologies it might one day be possible to find some of these exotic stars, which, perhaps, really do exist. Here are some of the prime candidates.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p3\" id=\"h-population-iii-stars\"><strong>Population III stars<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist's impression of the first stars, which formed 400 million years after the Big Bang. Credit: NASA\/WMAP Science Team<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">The early Universe was almost devoid of heavy elements, meaning the first stars would have been pretty much completely made of hydrogen and helium.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">These \u2018Population III\u2019 stars would have been several hundred times the mass of the Sun, meaning that they would have quickly burned through their fuel and gone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/when-stars-collapse-what-is-a-supernova\">supernova<\/a>.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">As this process would have filled the surrounding space with heavier elements, it is unlikely that any stars of this type exist in the local Universe.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/what-is-a-gamma-ray-burst\">gamma-ray burst<\/a> GRB 130925A \u2013 observed in 2013 \u2013 is thought to be from the collapse of one of these stars, the light of which is only just reaching us.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p2\" id=\"h-dark-stars\"><strong>Dark stars<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1051\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/Dark-star-9447482.jpg\" alt=\"Dark stars may have been created with dark matter making up as much as 10% of their mass. Credit: University of Utah\" class=\"wp-image-52292\" title=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dark stars may have been created with dark matter making up as much as 10% of their mass. Credit: University of Utah<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">Another of the Universe\u2019s earliest stars may have been a more unusual breed. As galaxies began to form, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/dark-matter-the-missing-universe\">dark matter<\/a> congregated at their centres, and stars born in the region may have been created with dark matter making up as much as 10% of their mass.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">This extra matter would have allowed the stars to grow to several million times the mass of the Sun, and a billion times brighter, but they would have been short lived.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Soon the dark matter fuel would have run out, collapsing the star. This may even be how supermassive black holes form.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p2\" id=\"h-blitzars\"><strong>Blitzars<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/Blitzar-star-07336d6.jpg\" alt=\"Artist's impression of a blitzar. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center\" class=\"wp-image-52293\" title=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist's impression of a blitzar. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">Even in the current Universe there are stars waiting to be found, among them the blitzar. Dying stars only go supernova and collapse into black holes when they are above a certain mass; otherwise they will form a neutron star.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Blitzars are neutron stars with masses above the supernova threshold, but held together by a rapid spin speed.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Over time, the spinning slows and eventually the star will collapse into a black hole, releasing an incredible amount of energy.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p2\" id=\"h-quark-stars\"><strong>Quark Stars<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1013\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/quark-star-42d6a10.jpg\" alt=\"Artist's impression of a quark star. Credit: NASA\" class=\"wp-image-52294\" title=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist's impression of a quark star. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">There is another hypothetical star bridging the gap between a neutron star and a black hole. If the mass of a neutron star is not enough to collapse into a black hole, but is massive enough to break down the neutrons into their component quarks, it could form a quark star.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">In this state the quarks would only be able to exist under extreme pressures and temperatures. If, however, the quarks could transform into the more massive \u2018strange quarks\u2019, they would be much more stable.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Over the years several potential candidates for these quark stars have been found, but as yet none has been confirmed.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading p2\" id=\"h-black-dwarfs\"><strong>Black dwarfs<\/strong><\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2020\/08\/black-dwarf-nasa-jpl-caltech-75e3e97.jpg\" alt=\"Artist's impression of a black dwarf star. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\" class=\"wp-image-52295\" title=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist's impression of a black dwarf star. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"p2\">The ultimate fate of our own Sun is a question that many astronomers have tried to answer. In five billion years time the Sun will have burned itself out, shrinking to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/white-dwarf\">white dwarf<\/a>, as will many other stars like it.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">Instead of generating its energy through fusion, all its light will come from its intense heat radiating away. Over time, the star will dim and cool, until all that is left behind is a cold <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/black-dwarf-star\">black dwarf<\/a>.<\/p><p class=\"p2\">How long this will take is not very certain, but even the shortest estimate states that it will take over a quadrillion (one thousand million million) years to reach this phase, so it will be a while until anyone can observe one.<\/p><p><em><strong>This article appeared in the October 2014 issue of <\/strong><\/em><strong>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There could be dozens of strange stellar objects still left to discover. 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Here are some of the strangest hypothetical stars thought to exist.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/61624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}