WEBVTT - What Is a Cosmic Cow?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. Given the vastness of the

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<v Speaker 1>universe and the few short millennia that humans have been

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<v Speaker 1>gazing star ward, it's no surprise that we're still discovering

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<v Speaker 1>how things work out there. One good example of this

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<v Speaker 1>ongoing process is the cosmic cow, which is the unofficial

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<v Speaker 1>name affectionately used by astronomers to refer to a t

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<v Speaker 1>cow or cow an unexplained X ray phenomenon that occurred

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<v Speaker 1>in the name was procedurally generated. The letters ceow just

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<v Speaker 1>happened to come together, but it's pretty cute. Today, researchers

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<v Speaker 1>have a strong hypothesis to explain the cosmic cow and

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<v Speaker 1>guide future research into black holes, neutron stars, and other

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<v Speaker 1>as yet unexplained events in the farthest reaches of the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>To understand why the cosmic cow caut us ronomers, attention,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about the life cycle of stars, including star death.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, there's a whole range of star types and sizes,

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<v Speaker 1>which means there's no normal way for stars to die,

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<v Speaker 1>and even dying isn't an accurate word, as stars simply

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<v Speaker 1>move from one phase of life to another. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>it's broadly accurate to say that when most massive stars,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, stars much larger than our Sun, reached the

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<v Speaker 1>end of their life cycle and have consumed all of

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<v Speaker 1>the fuel within their cores, they explode in a supernova

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<v Speaker 1>and then become either a black hole or a neutron star,

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<v Speaker 1>but depending on the star's original size. Astronomers have been

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<v Speaker 1>measuring supernovas for a long time. The first possible recorded

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<v Speaker 1>supernova dates back to Indian astronomers records around four thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>five hundred BC plus remind us about a thousand years.

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<v Speaker 1>Since then, there have been many notable supernovas, including one

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<v Speaker 1>recorded by Chinese astronomers in one eight five C and

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<v Speaker 1>another by Johanna's Kepler and many other astronomers across the

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<v Speaker 1>globe in sixteen o four, plus dozens more recently, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to advancements in telescope science, so astronomers generally understand what

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<v Speaker 1>they're seeing when a particularly bright emission appears in the sky.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what was so baffling about this so called cosmic

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<v Speaker 1>cow when astronomers first observed it in June of astronomers

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<v Speaker 1>using a telescope at Helic Club Observatory in Hawaii noticed

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<v Speaker 1>the bright X ray emission, which persisted for three weeks

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<v Speaker 1>and glowed ten times more brightly than supernovas that astronomers

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<v Speaker 1>had previously studied. Only now years later do we have

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<v Speaker 1>a sense of what may have caused this bright emission,

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<v Speaker 1>A bouncing bundle of joy for the universe in the

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<v Speaker 1>form of either a newborn black hole or neutron star.

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<v Speaker 1>Astronomers at m I T, led by research scientist dear

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<v Speaker 1>Rage DJ Pashum at the Covley Institute for Astrophysics and

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<v Speaker 1>Space Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studied the emissions from the

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<v Speaker 1>cow for several months and published their findings in the

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<v Speaker 1>journal Nature Astronomy in December. They determined it's likely the

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<v Speaker 1>result of a massive energy output caused by a black

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<v Speaker 1>hole or neutron star enjoying its first meal of its

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<v Speaker 1>origin star. Unlike other supernovas, the energy emitted by the

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<v Speaker 1>Cow occurred a bit differently, hence the bright, long lasting

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<v Speaker 1>glow observed in the sky. Given the unique data his

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<v Speaker 1>team was studying, Pashum admitted he was hoping that the

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<v Speaker 1>explanation would point to a black hole eating an exotic star.

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<v Speaker 1>He told Science News. I was a little bit disappointed,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm more blown away that this could be direct

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<v Speaker 1>evidence of the birth of a black hole. This is

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<v Speaker 1>an even cooler result. The results of this m I

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<v Speaker 1>T study suggest that astrophysicists might use a similar protocol

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<v Speaker 1>to examine the data from other unexplained origin phenomena, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>fast blue optical transient phenomen enough. There are about a

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<v Speaker 1>dozen of these that have been recorded, and astronomers may

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<v Speaker 1>now be able to come up with new hypotheses to

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<v Speaker 1>explain these events which happened in the distant reaches of

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<v Speaker 1>the universe. Additionally, the cosmic cow now gives astronomers a

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<v Speaker 1>guide when it comes to looking for new neutron stars

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<v Speaker 1>and baby black holes. Studying black holes is a big

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<v Speaker 1>priority for NASA right now, and it's always good to

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<v Speaker 1>have a better idea of what to look for and

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<v Speaker 1>to gain a better understanding of the life cycle. If

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<v Speaker 1>you want to keep an eye on black holes to

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<v Speaker 1>look into the Imaging X ray polar Imatry Explorer, which

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<v Speaker 1>NASA launched in December, and the Chandra X ray Observatory.

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<v Speaker 1>These two space telescopes are gazing across the vast reaches

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<v Speaker 1>of our galaxy and universe to measure the X ray

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<v Speaker 1>emissions of typical black holes, though, as we're learning, there

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<v Speaker 1>are a typical black holes too m HM. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article what is a Cosmic Cow?

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<v Speaker 1>On how stuff Works dot Com written by Valerie Stymond.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff Works dot Com and is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang and Ramsay Young. Four more podcasts from my

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