The star FU Ori is known for increasing its brightness many years ago, but has not returned to normal. According to scientists, the reason for this is a Jupiter-like planet that is experiencing “extreme evaporation”.
Mystery of FU Ori
A group of researchers from the University of Leicester recently published a paper in which they tried to solve the mystery of the star FU Ori. This young and bright enough luminary is located at a distance of 1200 light-years from us. It has been known for a long time, but 85 years ago astronomers paid special attention to it.
At this time, the star FU Ori dramatically increased its brightness. It was like a flare that often occurs on stars, but it was extremely bright and did not stop. Over time, scientists have come to the conclusion that the cause of this extreme phenomenon may be a protoplanetary disk that this young luminary has.
The gas and dust that formed it began to fall intensively on the star, which led to an increase in the luminosity of FU Ori. However, not all astronomers were satisfied with this explanation, and in a new study they suggested that a young planet could be the cause of the flares.
“Extreme evaporation” of the gas giant
Scientists have observed how FU Ori moves in space and have suggested that a fairly massive body can orbit around the star. The presence of planets in gas-dust disks surrounding young stars is now considered commonplace.
Astronomers simulated what would happen if a gas giant ten times more massive than Jupiter appeared at a certain distance from FU Ori, and then approached its star due to the influence of a gas-dust disk that slowed down its movement.
It turned out that at a certain stage, “extreme evaporation” could occur. The radiation of the star tore off parts of the atmosphere from it, which formed a dense shell. At the same time, they began to warm up strongly.
Extreme evaporation led to the formation of what experts called a “disk inferno”. In fact, the planet is burning up in a soup of what was once its own atmosphere. At the same time, the process of gas out of the atmosphere does not stop. Scientists are convinced that this will end with the fact that the planet will be torn apart.
According to phys.org
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