Notes for Editors
“X-raying the Beating Heart of a Newborn Star: Rotational Modulation of High-energy Radiation from V1647 Ori” by K. Hamaguchi et al. is published in the Astrophysical Journal, vol. 754, 20 July 2012.
Animation caption:
Artist impression of what might be happening behind the thick dust disc surrounding the young Sun-like star V1647 Ori. X-ray observations by ESA’s XMM-Newton, NASA’s Chandra and Japan’s Suzaku space observatories have probed the interior of the dust disc to find a rapidly-rotating star spinning with a period of one day. At 80% the mass of our Sun and with a diameter approximately four times larger, spinning at this rate nears break-up speed for a star of this size. The data also suggest that matter is accreting onto the stellar surface in two pancake-shaped hotspots located on opposite sides of the star, in which the matter heats up and the high temperature plasma is confined.
Credits: C. Carreau
For further information, please contact:
Markus Bauer
ESA Science and Robotic Exploration Communication Officer
Tel: +31 71 565 6799
Mob: +31 61 594 3 954
Email: markus.bauer@esa.int
Kenji Hamaguchi
NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center
Email: kenji.hamaguchi@nasa.gov
Norbert Schartel
XMM-Newton Project Scientist
Tel: +34 91 8131 184
Email: Norbert.Schartel@sciops.esa.int
