10 Astronomical Objects That Are Not Behaving As They Should | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This video explores ten astronomical objects that behave in unexpected ways, including galaxies without enough dark matter, white dwarfs that switch off, and a star system emitting infrared laser light.

Key Insights

• 🕶️ The nature of dark matter and our understanding of gravity are questioned by galaxies like NGC 1052-DF2, which appear to lack sufficient dark matter.
• ❔ Certain white dwarfs, including TW Pictoris, display irregular rises and falls in brightness, raising questions about the interaction between magnetic fields and accretion disks.
• 🤩 Historical accounts of stars like Beta Librae reveal discrepancies in brightness and color, challenging our understanding of stellar behavior and human perception.
• 💗 Pulsars that exhibit nulling, like PSR B1931+24 and PSR J1841-0500, present anomalous pulsing behaviors that defy current explanations.
• 🤩 The existence of Thorne-Zytkow objects, such as HV 2112 and HV 11417, provides potential evidence for the merging of neutron stars and red giants.
• 🖤 The quasar ULAS J1342+0928, featuring an ancient black hole, offers insights into the epoch of reionization and challenges models of black hole formation.
• 💁 The unique characteristics of our solar system, including the absence of certain exoplanet types, suggest rare formation conditions or unknown factors in planet formation.
• ⛩️ Unexplained radio signals and astrophysical phenomena near the center of the galaxy, such as ASKAP J173608.2-321635, hint at unknown phenomena and conditions in this busy region.
• 🙂 The star system MWC 349 emits infrared laser and maser light from its debris disk, a phenomenon not fully understood in astrophysics.

Transcript

On this channel a common theme is coverage of astronomical objects that should not behave as they do. These include the usual suspects such as Przybylski’s star and the transuranic elements apparently in it, and the mysteriously dipping star KIC 8462852. But there are a number of such objects that I’ve never covered or only briefly touched on, and ... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the existence of galaxies without enough dark matter challenge our understanding of the universe?

If galaxies like NGC 1052-DF2 are devoid of dark matter, it raises questions about the nature of gravity and the existence of weakly interacting particles. Our current models should be universal, observed in all galaxies, but this discrepancy suggests something is amiss.

Q: Why is the white dwarf TW Pictoris unique in its brightness behavior?

TW Pictoris displays rapid rises and falls in brightness over short timescales, unlike any other white dwarf observed so far. This is believed to be caused by disruptions in the accretion disk due to the white dwarf's magnetic field, but further research is needed.

Q: What explanations have been proposed for the discrepancies in Beta Librae's brightness and color?

It is uncertain why Beta Librae appeared differently to ancient observers. Possible explanations include changes in the brightness of Antares or Beta Librae being a long-period variable star. The perception of it being greenish may be due to human vision and dim objects.

Q: How do pulsars that exhibit nulling challenge current understanding?

Pulsars typically stop pulsing for a short time due to intrinsic issues or changes in their magnetosphere. However, pulsars like PSR B1931+24 and PSR J1841-0500 exhibit longer periods of nulling that are not well-understood, suggesting rare mechanisms or unresolved factors.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 appears to have little to no dark matter, challenging our understanding of its nature and raising questions about our models of gravity.

• TW Pictoris, a white dwarf in a binary system, exhibits irregular rises and falls in brightness, believed to be caused by interruptions in the accretion disk from its magnetic field.

• Beta Librae is a star with discrepancies in brightness and color in historical accounts, presenting a mystery as to why it appeared differently to ancient observers.

• Certain pulsars exhibit nulling, where they temporarily stop pulsing, but two pulsars, PSR B1931+24 and PSR J1841-0500, display unusual pulsing behaviors that defy current explanations.

• Thorne-Zytkow objects, theorized combinations of a neutron star and a red giant, have been suggested as candidates in HV 2112 and HV 11417 due to elevated levels of certain elements and high luminosity.

• The quasar ULAS J1342+0928 contains the oldest black hole known, formed only 690 million years after the Big Bang, challenging current models of black hole formation.

• Our solar system's unique characteristics, such as the absence of super earths and hot jupiters, suggest that it formed under unusual conditions, potentially making Earth-like planets rare.

• Strange radio waves from the center of the galaxy, particularly ASKAP J173608.2-321635, point to unexplained astrophysical phenomena occurring in the crowded galactic center.

• MWC 349, a double star system, exhibits the emission of infrared laser and maser light from its debris disk, a phenomenon not fully understood.

• The binary star system TIC 400799224 shows erratic variations in starlight-blocking dips, which are attributed to two large asteroids colliding and generating dust, though some aspects remain unexplained.