Experts wonder about the “strange” long objects that make the star disappear

Astronomers and space experts were amazed that a star in the center of the Milky Way continued to flash. While many stars change their brightness because they are pulsating or obscured by other stars, this star has particularly astonished scientists because it darkens for several months and then suddenly becomes bright again. The star named VVV-WIT-08 is located in the center of the Milky Way, about 25,000 light-years from planet Earth.

After years of observation and analysis, astronomers have predicted that the star could be a new class of “flashing giant” binary systems that will be banned every few decades. While the team is still exploring what might be hiding the star, their observations revealed that a companion of the star, which could be a planet or another star, is covered in an opaque disk.

‘What is that’

talking about himself IndependentlyProfessor Philip Lucas of the University of Hertfordshire said they sometimes find variable stars that “do not fit into a certain category we call ‘what is this'” or ‘WIT objects’. More specifically, he said, experts haven’t yet figured out “how these flashing giants came to be,” adding that it was exciting to see such discoveries by VVV after “many years of planning and data collection.”

While VVV-WIT-08 continues to spark the curiosity of the scientific community, NASA recently shared a stunning image of two galaxies orbiting in a galactic system 140 million light-years from Earth. According to the US space agency, shock waves vibrate through both galaxies as they merge, causing waves of new star formation. Some of these stars are huge and their lives are short but violent. There are two oval elements in close proximity that, according to the image, emit blue X-rays that illuminate the area. According to data from NASA’s Chandra Observatory, 25 powerful X-ray sources are scattered throughout the galactic system.

Photo: Amanda Smith/Cambridge University