Study finds probable explanation for unusual planetary nebulae alignment in the Milky Way
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Back in 2013, Bryan Rees of the University of Manchester discovered the unusual alignment of stars at the galactic center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Rees discovered elongated planetary nebulae in the Milky Way's center that appear to lay parallel to the plane of the galactic bulge — hinting at undiscovered underlying phenomena.
Planetary nebulae are created by the gas "ghost" clouds expelled by the dying stars.
Astronomers from the Universities of Manchester and Hong Kong may have found a plausible explanation for this strange alignment of some planetary nebulae.
Study of 136 planetary nebulae
Each of these nebulas has distinct properties and is formed by separate stars born at different times and locations.
What is remarkable is that some planetary nebulae tend to have similar alignments in the sky and are aligned parallel to the Galactic plane of the Milky Way.
This study examined 136 planetary nebulae found in the galactic bulge with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope.
The galactic bulge is the thickest part of our galaxy, made up of stars, gas, and dust. There are supposed to be thousands of planetary nebulae in the galaxy's center bulge.
Binary star system is the main reason behind the alignment
The scientists discovered that planetary nebulae with nearby star companions appear to align along the galactic plane. Such alignment might be guided by a binary star system consisting of two gravitationally bounded stars that typically circle their center of mass.
“The companion star orbits the main star at the center of the planetary nebulae in an orbit closer than Mercury is to our own Sun,” noted the official statement. As a result, such alignment tends to occur near the galactic plane.
Meanwhile, planetary nebulae with no binary stars are less likely to establish this alignment.
“The formation of stars in the bulge of our galaxy is a complex process that involves various factors such as gravity, turbulence, and magnetic fields. Until now, we have had a lack of evidence for which of these mechanisms could be causing this process to happen and generating this alignment. The significance in this research lies in the fact that we now know that the alignment is observed in this very specific subset of planetary nebulae,” explained Albert Zijlstra, co-author of this study, in an official release.
Previously, it was assumed that alignment is driven by powerful magnetic fields that existed billions of years ago when the galactic bulge formed.
The study of planetary nebulae in the center of our galaxy provides insight into the dynamics and evolution of the Milky Way's bulge area.
The authors emphasize that more study of these planetary nebulae is necessary to comprehend the mechanics underlying the alignment properly.
The results have been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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