Astronomers thought this behavior was unique to black holes

Aug 5, 2015 07:11 GMT  ·  By

A recent study in the Astrophysical Journal announces the discovery of a slightly confused star that is behaving more like a black hole. The orb, part of a binary system known to astronomers as PSR J1023+0038, appears to be blasting off massive jets of material. 

True, such powerful bursts have been documented before in the cosmos. Except researchers were quite convinced they could only originate from black holes.

“It was previously thought that the only objects in the universe capable of forming such powerful jets were black holes,” explain scientists with the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research.

The star isn't just any fiery orb

This star that's trying to steal the thunder from black holes formed in the aftermath of a supernova explosion. What this means is that it is not a star per se - at least not one like our Sun - but rather a stellar corpse.

Thus, it is basically the super-dense remains of a star that, having reached the end of its life, exploded in a supernova. Scientists refer to such cosmic cadavers as neutron stars.

“They're formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and undergoes a supernova, and the central parts of the star collapse under their own gravity,” says scientist James Miller-Jones.

Most neutron stars measure merely 10 to 15 kilometers (approximately 6 to 9 miles) across. Because of how mindboggling dense they are, however, their mass is usually about 1.5 times greater than that of the Sun.

So, what's up with the jets?

As mentioned, the star is part of a binary system. What this means is that it does not stand alone in the universe but instead has a companion, i.e. another star that it is gravitationally bound to.

Astronomers believe that the powerful jets of material the orb produces are the result of gas reaching it from its companion only to be blasted out into deep space at nearly the speed of light almost instantaneously. The same mechanism is at play when black holes birth jets.