An X-ray-emitting blast wave from the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi
Article Abstract:
The X-ray observations of runaway thermonuclear fusion reactions on the surface of a white dwarf in a binary star system are reported, from the 12 February 2006 eruption of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi. The hard X-ray emission emanated from behind a blast wave, or outward-moving shock wave, whose early onset of deceleration indicates that the ejected shell has a low mass, the white dwarf has a high mass, and that RS Ophiuchi is a progenitor of the type of supernova (type Ia) integral to the studies of the expansion of the Universe.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2006
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An asymmetric shock wave in the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi
Article Abstract:
The detection of spatially resolved structure in the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi from two weeks after its 12 February 2006 outburst is reported, and an expanding shock wave is tracked as it sweeps through the red giant wind, producing a remnant similar to that of a type II supernova but evolving over months rather than millennia. Asymmetries and multiple emission components in the shock wave clearly demonstrate that the ejection is jet-like, collimated by the central binary.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2006
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Stellar encounters as the origin of distant solar system objects in highly eccentric orbits
Article Abstract:
The study adopts a cluster age of 30-200 Myr for the encounter, and use planet formation and N-body simulations to provide the first assessment of the probability that a close pass could yield the observed edge to the kuiper belt and the capture of an extrasolar planet into a Sedna-like orbit. It concluded that detection of such objects would confirm the presence of extrasolar planets in the solar system.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2004
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