Astronomers Discovers the Small, Hot Helium Star

22 Feb 2024

Context: 

Astronomers have discovered a rare class of stars, called helium-covered hot stars.

Astronomers Discover a Hot Helium Star

  • After the research, scientists finally discovered a missing population of stars that confirms a key prediction of how Binary Star evolved.
Binary Star

  • A system of two stars in which one star revolves around the other or both revolve around a common centre.

 

Also Read: Formation Of Stars

What Is a Helium Star?

  • It is a class O or B star (blue), which has extraordinarily strong helium lines, and weaker than normal Hydrogen lines, indicating strong stellar winds.
Class O or B Star

  • Class O: It includes bluish-white stars with surface temperatures typically 25,000–50,000 K.
    • Lines of ionized helium appear in the spectra.
  •  Class B: These stars typically range from 10,000 K to 25,000 K and are also bluish-white but show neutral helium lines
    • Extreme Helium Stars are scarce stars that are almost completely devoid of hydrogen.
  • Temperature: Helium-rich stars are the hottest star category, almost 10 times as hot as the Sun.
    • Their immense heat means that despite being exceptionally rare, they make an outsize contribution to the universe’s stock of heavier elements.
  • Hypothetical Star: A Helium star is also a term for a hypothetical star that could occur if two helium white dwarfs subsequently start nuclear fusion of helium, with a lifetime of a few hundred million years.
  • This may only happen if these two binary masses share the same type of envelope phase. It is believed this is the origin of the extreme helium stars.
Also Read: Black Hole Mass Gap

News Source: ILF Science and The Hindu   

Must Read
NCERT Notes For UPSC UPSC Daily Current Affairs
UPSC Blogs UPSC Daily Editorials
Daily Current Affairs Quiz Daily Main Answer Writing
UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers UPSC Test Series 2024

 

Archive Calendar

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Need help preparing for UPSC or State PSCs?

Connect with our experts to get free counselling & start preparing

Know about Physics Wallah

Physics Wallah is an Indian online education platform, that provides accessible & comprehensive learning experiences to students of classes 6 to 12 and those preparing for JEE and NEET exams. We also provide extensive NCERT solutions, sample papers, NEET, JEE Mains, BITSAT previous year papers, which makes us a one-stop solution for all resources. Physics Wallah also caters to over 3.5 million registered students and over 78 lakh+ Youtube subscribers with 4.8 rating on its app.

We Stand Out because

We successfully provide students with intensive courses by India's qualified & experienced faculties. PW strives to make the learning experience comprehensive and accessible for students of all sections of society. We believe in empowering every single student who couldn't dream of a good career in engineering and medical field earlier.

Our Key Focus Areas

Physics Wallah’s main focus is to create accessible learning experiences for students all over India. With courses like Lakshya, Udaan, Arjuna & many others, we have been able to provide a ready solution for lakhs of aspirants. From providing Chemistry, Maths, Physics formulae to giving e-books of eminent authors, PW aims to provide reliable solutions for student prep.

What Makes Us Different

Physics Wallah strives to develop a comprehensive pedagogical structure for students, where they get a state-of-the-art learning experience with study material and resources. Apart from catering students preparing for JEE Mains and NEET, PW also provides study material for each state board like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and others.

Aiming for UPSC?

Download Our App

# #
Quick Revise Now !
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SOON
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

<div class="new-fform">






    </div>

    Subscribe our Newsletter
    Sign up now for our exclusive newsletter and be the first to know about our latest Initiatives, Quality Content, and much more.
    *Promise! We won't spam you.
    Yes! I want to Subscribe.