Neutron star WR 104 won't kill us

A star that is about to end its life with an eruption of deadly gamma rays from its poles, does not direct them to us, despite the initial fear since the star was photographed about a year ago

In early 2008, concerns began to mount about a Wolf-Rayet type star known as WR 104 that appeared to be headed directly for Earth.

The Wolf-Rayet star is an unstable star nearing the end of its life, and at the peak of its explosion it will emit a deadly gamma radiation that is capable of eliminating life on any planet that is called its way.

Gamma ray bursts They are parallel beams of high-energy gamma rays that are emitted from the poles of collapsing Wolf-Rayet stars. Therefore it was no wonder that we were worried when such a star was discovered pointing its poles exactly towards us.

At the American Astronomical Society conference in Long Beach, interest grew in the findings of one of the scientists working at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, Dr. Grant Hill who observed WR 104 and shared his findings according to which our solar system is not showered with deadly gamma rays despite everything.

Wolf-right stars are massive stars that have undergone violent suicidal deaths. They are very hot (over 50 degrees Kelvin) and lose mass rapidly, creating a powerful solar wind (at speeds of 2,000 kilometers per second). WR 104 was photographed using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii last March and the image of the vane-like spiral looked like we were looking straight down the barrel of a gun.

What is the cause of the spiral structure surrounding WR 104? The star has a companion, an O-type star, and SR 104's solar wind swirls around it. Since we can see the entire spiral from Earth, it is logical to assume that the binary system is located directly in front of us. Since WR 104's poles are at a 90 degree angle to its epicenter, the future eruption may be aimed directly at us.

According to Dr. Hill, WR 104 is an object we are interested in and since it is in the Milky Way and we see it "from above" it could be devastating to the Earth. Hill therefore decided to examine Keck's previous observations to find out if an eruption might come out of it that would harm the Earth. His work confirmed that the system is a double star system, with the two members of the system orbiting each other every eight months. Hill also confirmed the presence of the shock front between the star and its O-type companion, and he says there is good news for Earth. It seems that the first pictures taken at Keck did not show the star as having its poles facing us directly. The spectroscopic emission lines from the pair of stars show that the system is actually at an angle of 30-40 degrees (and maybe even 45 degrees) away from us. Therefore there is no fear that he will shoot the gamma-ray burst at us.

Another astronomy conference in Long Beach - January 2009:

• The cosmic background radiation is 6 times stronger than expected
  
• The Milky Way is more massive and could collide with Andromeda
  

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