Supernova is canceled! A typo destroyed the expectations of scientists

Supernova is canceled! A typo destroyed the expectations of scientists

Sometimes typos can make you laugh or confuse. But in some cases there are cosmic consequences. The scientific world was expecting to see the creation of a supernova in 2022. However, the case and simple human inattention intervened. Two stars in the constellation Cygnus rotated in a deadly spiral, ready to end with a bright explosive collision in real time! But no. And the fault lies not in mathematical calculations.

Supernova is canceled! A typo destroyed the expectations of scientists

Watch out for space. New ones appear almost all the time, however it is incredibly difficult to predict a similar event

Event prediction

The KIC 9832227 system lives at a distance of 1,800 light years. There are two stars in it. The orbit is so fast that it equals 11 earth days. Such a small distance led to the fact that their atmospheres began to contact and mix. The interest in the object is due to the fact that the bodies are neatly aligned with the Earth. With each revolution, we get the opportunity to observe a transit event (one star overshadows the other). The change in brightness made it possible to determine how rapidly the stars merge and also predict the end of their lives. For the collision equation equation, data from 1999 has been used. The current observations of 2007 and 2017 showed a sharp acceleration. The numbers indicated that the process should be completed in 2022. However, a team from San Diego State University decided to repeat the analysis.

Supernova is canceled! A typo destroyed the expectations of scientists

Star explosions are most often associated with supernovae — amazing events of star death. But they are also created by the birth of a new object

Shooting stars

The new study indicated an error, which once again confirms the need for continuous data verification and updating of information. The reason was the table of information from 1999. Just one typo shifted the orbital flight time by 12 hours. Since then, the error has passed from one calculation to another, which means that KIC 9832227 will not collide in a stunning explosion in 2022.

Astronomers are forced to again take up the recalculation and verification of all data. But researchers are not discouraged, because modern science is based on a skeptical attitude to everything and a constant adjustment of the provisions when new information is received.

Comments (0)
Search