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Jellyfish nebula may be the scene of two stars going supernova
Phys.org • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers have discovered that the Jellyfish nebula (IC 443) and another supernova remnant, G189.6+3.3, occupy the same physical environment, suggesting a close proximity and similar distance from Earth.
- The study, published in Nature Communications, indicates that the star that formed IC 443 may have had a binary partner star that exploded 20,000 to 100,000 years earlier, making this the first known binary star system where both stars have gone supernova.
- The findings were based on 16 years of gamma-ray data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope combined with X-ray and multiwavelength observations from eROSITA and other sources.
- Statistical analysis and simulations support that the close alignment of these two supernova remnants is unlikely to be coincidental, reinforcing the binary star origin theory.
- This discovery offers new insights into the evolution of binary star systems and the dynamics of supernova explosions in crowded regions of the Milky Way.
