NASA’s TESS exoplanet mission reveals dusty mystery, puzzling astronomers

An image taken by the Dark Energy Camera in Chile shows TIC 400799224.

An image taken by the Dark Energy Camera in Chile shows TIC 400799224.(Image credit: Powell et al., 2021)

The universe is full of mysteries.

In observations gathered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers stumbled on yet another mystery, and a dusty one at that. In new research, a team of scientists examines potential causes of strange signals emitted by an object dubbed TIC 400799224.

Based on what astronomers have seen so far, the researchers suggest that this object might be a binary star, or double star system, in which one of the stars is surrounded by a massive cloud of dust, the rubble of perhaps a large asteroid, according to a statement from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, home to one of the researchers on the team.

Related: The 10 biggest exoplanet discoveries of 2021

TESS is designed to spot exoplanets by looking for tiny, rhythmic dips in the brightness of a star — dips caused by a planet passing in between the telescope and the star, blocking a smidge of its light. However, planets aren’t the only phenomenon that can cause changing brightness like this, so TESS has gathered a bounty of observations on everything from supernovas (exploding stars) to triple star systems and more.

When the researchers were looking through TESS data gathered in early 2019, TIC 400799224 stood out because it became nearly 25% dimmer in just a few hours, then made several more sudden brightness changes. (TIC stands for TESS Input Catalog and references a database of “every optically persistent, stationary object in the sky,” by the way.)

An artist's depiction of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in space.

An artist’s depiction of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in space. (Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)

TESS spends about one month on a single patch of the sky then moves on, but these patches overlap, so the object was included in four different sectors observed between March 2019 and May 2021. The researchers also turned to other instruments for additional information on the strange object, incorporating data from facilities including the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae and the Las Cumbres Observatory, both networks of ground-based observatories around the globe.

Taken together, all this data let scientists piece together a picture of what might be causing the strange signal. The researchers suspect that at the heart of TIC 400799224 is a binary star in which two similar stars circle each other. But one of those stars appears to be pulsing every 19.77 days, causing the more complicated patterns; that pulsing, the astronomers argue, is caused by a massive cloud of dust surrounding the star. That dust has a combined mass equivalent to the remains of an asteroid 6 miles (10 kilometers) wide, they calculate.

The scientists consider a few different explanations for all that dust, but suggest that the most likely case is that collisions between miniature planet-like objects like asteroids are creating the dust. Still, it’s a tricky case to explain because the amount of dust hanging around seems to have remained pretty steady throughout the six years that the scientists can find existing observations of TIC 400799224. The researchers hope to continue observing the object to better understand its strange patterns.

The research is described in a paper published Dec. 8 in The Astronomical Journal.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Meghan Bartels

Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years’ experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at @meghanbartels.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Leaf at first sight: How leaf-curling spiders pair up and build a family home thumbnail

Leaf at first sight: How leaf-curling spiders pair up and build a family home

Credit: Shutterstock Have you recently spotted a spider peeking out from a brown, curled-up leaf in your garden? Chances are you're sharing your yard with the leaf-curling spider, Phonognatha graeffei (pronounced fon-og-natha greef-e-i), a fascinating member of the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae (pronounced aran-ee-i-dee). This spider—found in each state and territory in Australia—builds its orb…
Read More
This fit tracker smartwatch is perfect for every resolution thumbnail

This fit tracker smartwatch is perfect for every resolution

StackCommerce This affordable smartwatch is an awesome way to track your health, along with a bunch of other features! The Smart Fit Multi-Functional Wellness & Fitness Watch does everything you look for in a smartwatch, but it’s also a super useful fitness tool that’s on sale for $31.99 (Reg. $149) with coupon code CYBER20.  There’s so much…
Read More
ANA、11月の国内線搭乗率61.7% 国際線24.3% thumbnail

ANA、11月の国内線搭乗率61.7% 国際線24.3%

 ANAホールディングス(9202)傘下の全日本空輸(ANA/NH)が1月7日に発表した2021年11月の利用実績によると、国際線は旅客数が前年同月比64.0%増の6万7068人、座席供給量を示すASK(有効座席キロ)は35.4%増の18億4639万9000座席キロ、有償旅客を運んだ距離を示すRPK(有償旅客キロ)は75.4%増の4億4899万旅客キロ、ロードファクター(座席利用率、L/F)は5.5ポイント上昇し24.3%だった。 11月の利用率が国内線61.7%、国際線24.3%だったANA=PHOTO: Tadayuki YOSHIKAWA/Aviation Wire  一方、国内線は旅客数が前年同月比4.5%増の178万3909人、ASKは1.6%増の26億223万2000座席キロ、RPKは1.9%増の16億532万1000旅客キロ、搭乗率は0.2ポイント上昇し61.7%となった。 ―記事の概要― ・国際線 ・国内線 ・貨物郵便 ・運航状況 国際線  国際線の方面別では、L/Fが最も高かったのは これより先は会員の方のみご覧いただけます。 無料会員は、有料記事を月あたり3記事まで無料でご覧いただけます。有料会員は、すべての有料記事をご覧いただけます。 会員の方はログインしてご覧ください。ご登録のない方は、無料会員登録すると続きをお読みいただけます。 無料会員として登録後、有料会員登録も希望する方は、会員用ページよりログイン後、有料会員登録をお願い致します。 * 会員には、無料個人会員および有料個人会員、有料法人会員の3種類ございます。  これらの会員になるには、最初に無料会員としての登録が必要です。 購読料はこちらをご覧ください。 * 有料会員と無料会員、非会員の違いは下記の通りです。・有料会員:会員限定記事を含む全記事を閲覧可能・無料会員:会員限定記事は月3本まで閲覧可能・非会員:会員限定記事以外を閲覧可能 * 法人会員登録は、こちらからお問い合わせください。* 法人の会員登録は有料のみです。
Read More
Index Of News
Consider making some contribution to keep us going. We are donation based team who works to bring the best content to the readers. Every donation matters.
Donate Now

Subscription Form

Liking our Index Of News so far? Would you like to subscribe to receive news updates daily?

Total
0
Share