(Photo : NAS/AFP via Getty Images)
The composition of the extraterrestrial Hypatia stone found in Egypt might have come from a subsuming supernova, a white dwarf that absorbed its pair, which remains a mystery what this sample from interstellar space is.
Finding an extraterrestrial Hypatia stone in Egypt is a one-in-a-million chance, and it is first-hand evidence of a subsuming supernova. This is an event where a White Dwarf star absorbs another star and is one of the rare, most powerful cosmic events.
Scientists call it a standard candle of type 1a, which is a different kind of stellar explosion.
Hypatia Stone Fall From Fertile Crescent
The Hypatia stone was first seen in 1996 when it was found in Egypt, which is a spectacular find in itself, reported Science Alert.
The chemical composition and patterning of the rock, among other things, imply that the shards possess dust and gas cloud remnants from a 1a supernova.
According to the scientists, such a mix of dust and gas would have crystallized over billions of years, eventually creating the parent body out of which Hypatia descended sometime between the time our solar system was formed, noted Science Daily.
Geochemist Jan Kramers from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa stated; that it is a rare kind of stellar explosion with captured gas atoms in the dust cloud. It was where the Hypatia's parent body was solidified.
A small sample of Hypatia was experimented on with non-destructive chemical analysis techniques at 17 targets. The clues derived from the tests were gleaned how the stone came to be formed.
The composition of the stone includes a weirdly low level of silicon, chromium, and manganese, prompting to suggest that the rock was not formed in the inner solar system.
Other observations are somewhat elevated traces of sulfur, iron, copper, vanadium, and phosphorous in the extraterrestrial Hypatia stone, different from most rocks found in this part of the cosmos, cited News 24. It could have originated from a rare subsuming supernova.
Space Rock From Outside the Solar System
The Hypatia stone's elemental pattern was far different from what would have been constituted inside the local solar system found in this arm of the Milk Way swirl. One other idea it came from a red star giant was not correct.
They also proved that Hypatia didn't fit what would be predicted if it emerged from a type II supernova; there was too much iron than silicon and calcium.
Proposing the interesting prospect that it is a relic from a type 1a supernova and the first to be unearthed in this part of the galaxy. Kramer added that if the guess were correct, that would be proof of a 1a nova explosion.
This is a rare example of interstellar dust being assimilated into the solar nebula from which our solar system was created without being blended in. Data about this weird supernova can be seen in Hypatia rocks, despite efforts to match it that never ended with a conclusive result of a similar type.
Several of the 15 elements found in the rock mirrored what would be anticipated if it came from a dense white dwarf star eruption.
Some elements like aluminum, phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, copper, and zinc did not add up to the 1a supernova models; more analysis is needed to come up with an answer.
Kramers concluded that a white dwarf came from a red giant, that could be how Hypatia could have gotten an element from a red giant. As seen in studies about white dwarfs, mentioned Science Direct.
The origin of the Egyptian extraterrestrial Hypatia stone, thought to come from subsuming supernova, or white dwarf is yet to be verified by science.
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