1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:09,000 ESO has just released a stunning new image of a field of stars towards the constellation of Carina. 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:14,000 This striking view is ablaze with a flurry of stars of all colours and brightness, 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,000 some of which glow against a backdrop of gas and dust clouds. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:25,000 A complex nebula created by previous, violent ejections surrounds an unusual star in the middle of this field. 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Astronomers have discovered that this star has a companion. 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Interactions in this double star system, surrounded by a dusty disc, 7 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 may be the engine fuelling the star’s remarkable nebula. 8 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,000 This is the ESOcast! 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Cutting-edge science and life behind the scenes of ESO, the European Southern Observatory. 10 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Exploring the far reaches of the Universe with our host Dr J, a.k.a. Dr Joe Liske. 11 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Hello and welcome to this episode of the ESOcast. 12 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,000 My name is Gaitee Hussain. I'm standing in this time for Dr J, who is on vacation. 13 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Today we will explore a new, beautiful ESO image that shows a rich field of stars 14 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,000 centred on a star called HD 87643. 15 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:25,000 A study using a new set of observations has provided astronomers with the best ever views of this exotic type of star. 16 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,000 The image, taken in the direction of the constellation of Carina, 17 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 shows a dense starscape towards the Carina arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. 18 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 As we come closer, we see the star HD 87643, 19 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000 a so-called B[e] star, at a distance of 4900 light-years. 20 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 The image beautifully shows the extended nebula of gas and dust that reflects the light from the star. 21 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:57,000 The central star’s wind appears to have shaped the nebula, leaving bright, ragged tendrils of gas and dust. 22 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 A careful investigation of these features seems to indicate 23 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,000 that there are regular ejections of matter from the star every 15 to 50 years. 24 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:13,000 The comprehensive new study uses three different instruments in ESO’s arsenal of telescopes. 25 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:21,000 First, for the big overview, astronomers turned to the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope 26 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:26,000 at the 2400-metre-high La Silla Observatory in Chile. 27 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,000 Secondly, the team used ESO’s Very Large Telescope, or the VLT, at Paranal. 28 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:39,000 Here, the NACO adaptive optics instrument allowed astronomers to obtain an image of the star 29 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,000 free from the blurring effects of the atmosphere. 30 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:47,000 To probe the object even further, the team then obtained an image 31 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:52,000 with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, or the VLTI for short. 32 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,000 The sheer range of this set of observations, 33 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:02,000 from the panoramic Wide Field Imager shot to the fine details of the VLTI observations, 34 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,000 corresponds to a zoom-in factor of 60,000 between the two extremes. 35 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:17,000 With this data, the astronomers found out that HD 87643 has a companion star located at about 50 times the Earth–Sun distance, 36 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,000 and is embedded in a compact dust shell. 37 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:26,000 The two stars probably orbit each other in a period between 20 and 50 years. 38 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 The presence of this companion could provide an explanation 39 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:37,000 for the regular ejection of matter from HD 87643 that forms its amazing nebula. 40 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000 As the companion star moves in a highly elliptical, or oval-shaped, orbit, 41 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:49,000 it regularly comes very close to HD 87643, and triggers an ejection of stellar material. 42 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000 This celestial tango may be what generates the gorgeous nebula. 43 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Once again, science has helped us explore and explain the beauty of the Universe. 44 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,000 This is Gaitee Hussain signing off for the ESOcast. 45 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 Join us again next time for another cosmic adventure. 46 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 ESOcast is produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory. www.eso.org 47 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 ESO, the European Southern Observatory, is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy 48 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,000 designing, constructing and operating the world's most advanced ground-based telescopes. 49 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,000 Transcription by ESO ; translation by —