14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers believe to have found a very rare so-called hybrid star in a fairly small galaxy located just 199,000 light-years from our cosmic address.
The celestial body in question, dubbed HV 2112, is part and parcel of the Small Magellanic Cloud, and scientists say that it appears to be nothing like the other stars thus far documented and analyzed.
As explained by Space, this star's distinct chemical signature indicates that it is a Thorne-Zytkow object. More precisely, HV 2112 appears to be a dead star nestled inside a dying one. Kind of like a Kinder Egg.
Astronomers explain that the star corpse at the core of this presumed Thorne-Zytkow object is known as a neutron star. The dying star that engulfed it and that now forms a shell around it is dubbed a red supergiant.
The existence of such bizarre 2-in-1 celestial bodies was first theorized by physicist Kip Thorne and astronomer Anna Zytkow back in 1975, who said that they would be birthed by binary systems made up of two massive stars.
Since these brainiacs proposed the existence of Thorne-Zytkow objects until now, no actual such hybrid stars have been discovered. Still, astronomers say that HV 2112 is a very good candidate.
Commenting on how the confirmation that this odd celestial body is actually a Throne-Zytkow object would change the world of astronomy, astrophysicist Emily Levesque pointed out that “If HV 2112 is found to be a bona fide TZO, this would have huge implications.”
“Inside these stars, we also have a new way of producing elements, and knowing where the various elements come from is a critical ingredient in trying to understand how the universe works,” the researcher added.