Scholz’s Star

Scholz’s Star – A close encounter.

With the advancement in science and technology, we have developed techniques to develop present and secure future. Nevertheless, with the advancement in science we can go back in past and study different aspects of the earlier world. Surprisingly there is a research performed about a star that has marked its evidence as back as 70,000 years ago!

Scholz's Star - a dim binary stellar system passed through the solar system's Oort cloud (group of comet bodies believed to be between 5,000 and 100,000 AU from the sun) along with its fellow mate, a brown dwarf 70,000 years ago. Discovered In 2013 by astronomer Ralf-Dieter Scholz, Scholz’s star came under the lime light from 2015, when a team of astronomers led by Eric Mamajek gave details of a possible stellar flyby. Some proofs come in front of us without any intention of invention. This Star encounter is one of its examples. Valentin Ivanov discovered a nearby star which was almost sitting still. Most Stars have the tendency to move across the sky over the course of years. But this was not the case with this star. This made Mamajek study further thus providing us with all possible details.

It is now settled at about 20 light-years away from the Sun in the Southern constellation Monoceros near the galactic plane. It came within a light-year of the sun. This is the closest such encounter as of now. But we are still seeing the influence of its visit.

In the initial study by Mamajek, it was thought that the encounter of the star would not have affected orbits of any objects in the solar system. Later a study in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society quoted that this travel has left its traces on the comets from the Oort cloud which marks the edge of the solar system. Interestingly, while studying the details about them Scientists are guessing the presence of eight objects that might be from outside of solar system.

Even though the history of the Star has been discovered it will be suspense if our ancestors noticed it. Yet not to deny that if the star has flared up while passing our solar system, the humans back then must have marked its presence.

Ketaki M Kardile