For the first time, astronomers have directly tracked the transformation of a dying star over more than a century – revealing that it is heating up faster than any other typical star ever observed.
The study, led by Professor Albert Zijlstra (The University of Manchester) and published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, examines 130 years of observations of the “spirograph” Planetary Nebula IC 418, located about 4000 light years away. Researchers found that the nebula’s green oxygen glow has brightened 2.5 times since 1893, driven by a rise of 3,000°C in the central star’s temperature.
While planetary nebulae usually evolve over millennia, IC 418 is changing rapidly enough to track within a human lifetime. The results challenge existing stellar evolution models, offering fresh insights into how stars end their lives and produce carbon — the element essential for life.
Read the full press release.
Image: The f658 image was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope on 14 September 1999 by R. Sahai, and is available from the HST Legacy Archive. The images shows light from the nebula emitted by nitrogen atoms, and clearly depicts the spirograph-like appearance of the nebula. The star visible at its centre, which ejected the nebulae, is now found to be rapidly heating up as it nears the end of its life. Our Sun will reach this phase of its evolution 5 billion years from now.
Credits: Left NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), Right Albert Zijlstra (The University of Manchester)