Mysterious ‘iron bar’ discovery in space may reveal Earth’s future
Scientists have discovered a large rod-shaped cloud of iron atoms in space that may offer clues about the future of Earth.
The building inside Ring Nebula The famous, colorful cloud, formed when a dying Sun-like star sheds its outer layers, was about 500 times wider than Pluto’s orbit and was located 2,283 light-years away.
Astronomers from Cardiff University and University College London detected the iron bar using a new telescope instrument called “The Guardian”. WHT Enhanced Field Speed Explorer (Knitting).
Scientists who have observed it say its origin is unclear, but their theories about how it formed suggest it could provide clues about Earth’s future.
The first theory is that the cloud may have formed during the collapse of the host star during the formation of the nebula.
Alternatively, experts believe it could happen space plasmaIt left behind a rocky planet that disappeared as the star expanded. If true, it could offer a preview of Earth’s future as Earth’s parent star, the Sun, similarly sheds its outer layers and engulfs Earth within a few billion years.
The team plans to make more observations to figure out exactly what the iron rod is, where it came from and what it could tell them, he said.
Lead author Dr. D., a collaborator from Cardiff University and UCL. Roger Wesson said that although the Ring Nebula has been studied using many different telescopes and instruments, Weave allowed them to “observe it in a new way, providing much more detail than before.”
He said: “By obtaining a continuous spectrum across the entire nebula, we can create images of the nebula at any wavelength and determine its chemical composition at any location.
“As we processed the data and scrolled through the images, one thing became very clear: in the middle of the familiar and iconic ring, this ‘rod’ of previously unknown ionized iron atoms.”
Cardiff University scientists were among those participating in the research. [Colin Smith/Geograph]
Co-author Prof Janet Drew added: “We definitely need to know more, particularly whether other chemical elements are found along with the newly detected iron, as this will probably tell us the right class of models to follow.”
Weave will conduct eight surveys over the next five years, targeting everything from nearby white dwarfs (a type of dead star) to very distant galaxies.
Wesson added: “It would be very surprising if the iron bar in the ring was unique.
“Hopefully, as we observe and analyze more nebulae formed in the same way, we will discover more examples of this phenomenon, which will help us understand where iron comes from.”
