First-ever Look at Magnetic Jet Reveals New Details in the Death of a Star

For the first time, scientists have observed a jet of high-energy particles emanating from a dying star, providing crucial insight into the formation of the symmetric clouds of gas known as planetary nebulae.

For years, scientists have known that stars like the Sun become planetary nebulae at the end of their lives. How the nebulae adopt their intriguing shapes, however, has not always been clear.

To solve this problem, a team of international researchers have turned to a high-speed magnetic jet given off by a dying star currently in the process of becoming a planetary nebula.

"In our data we found the clear signature of a narrow and extremely energetic jet of a type which has never been seen before in an old, sun-like star," Andrés Pérez Sánchez, a graduate student in astronomy at Bonn University and the study's lead, said in a statement.

The researchers were able to identify the jet of particles which, due to strong magnetic fields, zip along nearly at the speed of light, based on the the strength of the radio waves of different frequencies from the star.

"What we're seeing is a powerful jet of particles spiralling through a strong magnetic field," said Wouter Vlemmings, an astronomer at Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers. "Its brightness indicates that it's in the process of creating a symmetric nebula around the star."

Based on their readings, the scientists believe the star is currently undergoing a dramatic -- albeit short -- stage in its development.

"The radio signal from the jet varies in a way that means that it may only last a few decades. Over the course of just a few hundred years the jet can determine how the nebula will look when it finally gets lit up by the star," says team member Jessica Chapman, astronomer at CSIRO in Sydney, Australia.

Ultimately, whether or not our own sun will create such a jet when it dies is unclear -- as of yet.

"The star may have an unseen companion -- another star or large planet -- that helps create the jet. With the help of other front-line radio telescopes, like ALMA, and future facilities like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), we'll be able to find out just which stars create jets like this one, and how they do it," says Andrés Pérez Sánchez.