钱德拉X射线天文台探测到来自另一颗恒星的日冕物质抛射

这幅艺术家的插图描绘了日冕物质抛射(CME)，这涉及到物质的大规模抛射，经常在我们的太阳上被观测到。新的研究利用钱德拉X射线天文台首次探测到来自于我们自身以外的恒星的日冕物质抛射，为这些强大现象提供了新的见解。顾名思义，这些事件发生在日冕中，日冕是恒星的外层大气。

这个“太阳系外”的日冕物质抛射是由一颗名为HR 9024的恒星发出的，它距离地球约450光年。这是研究人员第一次从太阳以外的恒星中彻底地识别和鉴定出日冕物质抛射的特征。这一事件以强烈的X射线闪光为特征，随后是巨大的等离子体气泡的发射，即含有带电粒子的热气体。

This artist’s illustration depicts a coronal mass ejection, or CME, which involves a large-scale expulsion of material, and have frequently been observed on our Sun. A new study using the Chandra X-ray Observatory detected a CME from a star other than our own for the first time, providing a novel insight into these powerful phenomena. As the name implies these events occur in the corona, which is the outer atmosphere of a star.

This “extrasolar” CME was seen emanating from a star called HR 9024, which is located about 450 light years from Earth. This represents the first time that researchers have thoroughly identified and characterized a CME from a star other than our Sun. This event was marked by an intense flash of X-rays followed by the emission of a giant bubble of plasma, i.e., hot gas containing charged particles.

Image Credit: NNASA/CXC/INAF/Argiroffi, C. et al./S. Wiessinger