How Dying Stars Transform into Planetary Nebulae: Powerful Magnetic Jets

Astronomers have made a surprising discovery. For the first time ever they've found a jet of high-energy particles emanating from a dying star. This could reveal how some of the most beautiful objects in the universe are formed--planetary nebulae.

When stars reach the end of their lives, they transform into stunning symmetric clouds of gas. Named planetary nebulae, these objects form fantastic shapes. Exactly how they turn into these shapes, though, has long been a mystery to astronomers. Now, they may have the answer.

Using the CSIRO Australia Telescope Compact Array, the researchers studied a star at the very end of its life. Known as IRAS 15445-5449, the star is beginning the process of forming a planetary nebula. It lies about 23,000 light years away from Earth in the southern constellation Triangulum Australe.

The researchers used the telescope to detect the strength of the radio waves of different frequencies from the star. They found that these waves matched the expected signature for a jet of high-energy particles which are accelerated to speeds that are close to the speed of light. Similar jets have been seen in many other types of astronomical objects, as well.

"What we're seeing is a powerful jet of particles spiraling through a strong magnetic field," said Wouter Vlemmings, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Its brightness indicates that it's in the process of creating a symmetric nebula around the star."

Currently, the star is undergoing a short but dramatic phase in its development. It's likely that this jet will help shape the planetary nebula as it continues to form.

"The radio signal from the jet varies in a way that means that it may only last a few decades," said Jessica Chapman, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Over the course of just a few hundred years the jet can determine how the nebula will look when it finally gets lit up by the star."

That's not to say that the research on how planetary nebulae form is complete, though. The scientists are now examining whether our sun will create such a jet when it dies.

The findings are published in the journal MNRAS.