There are no space objects really spherical. The shape is influenced by the force created by the rotational motion and magnetic fields. No wonder so many the space objects that looks more bloated, especially around the equator.
One example is our sun. At the equator area of sun was 10 kilometers longer than the radius at around its two poles. The average radius of the sun itself around 695,700 km. Note also the Earth, our beloved planet. Radius around the equator was 21 km longer than at its poles. And the Earth itself has an average radius throughout 6,371 km.
 |
| The comparison between the Kepler 11145123 and Sun. (Picture from: http://adf.ly/1g0jiJ) |
But in the journal Science Advances published in November 16, 2016, the German scientists have discovered the most spherical objects ever found in the universe. Yes, the star named Kepler 11145123 lies within 5,000 light years from the Earth which is claimed as the most spherical space object ever discovered.
This star is an average radius of about 1.5 million km, but the size of the radius at the center line just 3 km longer than the radius at both poles. Not perfectly round indeed. But the spherical level of Kepler 11145123 is the most nearly perfect!
The calculations to the shape of Kepler 11145123 was conducted by Laurent Gizon, a researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the University of Gottingen, Germany. Together with his colleagues he observed the star's size changing that took place periodically for four years. The changes called oscillation that can be measured by observing the difference of the light of stars.
According to the calculation of Gizon and his colleagues, the rotation of Kepler 11145123 is three times more slowly than the Sun. They suspect this is one reason why the star has nearly perfect rounded shape. And the magnetic field is also supposed to influence its almost perfect shape.
Gizon said that he and his team plan to use this method to measure the other stars in the universe. "It would be very interesting to know how the speed of rotation and magnetic fields affect the shape of star," said Gizon. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SCIENCE DAILY]
Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone
