The smallest star in history, seen thanks to the large telescope of Gran Canaria.

The smallest star in history, seen thanks to the great telescope of Gran Canaria

Scientists have identified an exotic binary system that harbours the tiniest star known to date. This star is only 7 times the size of the Earth and is even smaller than Saturn. This surprising discovery was made possible thanks to observations made by the Gran Telescopio de Canarias, on La Palma, among other astronomical instruments.
A hot subdwarf located approximately 2,760 light-years away from Earth has been identified, according to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy. The team of researchers, led by Chinese experts and composed of scientists from the United States, Australia and Europe, has contributed significantly to this discovery. A hot subdwarf located approximately 2,760 light-years away from Earth has been identified, according to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy. The team of researchers, led by Chinese experts and composed of scientists from the United States, Australia and Europe, has contributed significantly to this discovery.

Following the discovery of the subdwarf, thanks to images taken from La Palma, experts have named the star TMTS J0526B and reported that it is about one-third the mass of our sun and reaches a temperature of about 2,225 degrees Celsius as it burns helium. According to the study, the star and its companion, J0526A, which is too faint to be observed directly, orbit each other every 20 minutes. Although J0526A is not visible to the telescope, researchers have confirmed its existence due to several pieces of evidence, including its extreme density that has caused J0526B, the main star, to take on an egg shape due to gravitational attraction.

The research was carried out using photometric data obtained by the Tsinghua-Ma Huateng Telescope, which has analysed more than 27 million stars until 2023. This telescope has been continuously searching for transient objects in one or two areas of the sky each night. The results obtained were confirmed by observations with larger telescopes, such as the Keck-I in Hawaii (USA) and the Gran Telescopio de Canarias in the Canary Islands.

This discovery has been possible thanks to the low light pollution on the island of La Palma, which gives us exceptional visibility. Thanks to this finding, achieved with our impressive telescope on the beautiful island, it shows the immense potential that our islands have and that we should take advantage of for our benefit.

As part of the Aeronautical and Aerospace Cluster of the Canary Islands, we share this vision for our islands as a whole. That is why we are dedicated to highlighting our archipelago in a unique way. Often, the islands are recognized primarily as tourist destinations, but we want to emphasize that they are also places from which we can conduct space research in an exceptional way.

In conclusion: the star TMTS J0526B and its exotic binary system have been revealed thanks to the Gran Telescopio Canarias and collaborators. This shows us a unique window to the amazing universe and that this kind of breakthroughs underline the importance of international collaboration and the constant exploration of the cosmos.

Data: https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/en/info/1245/12731.htm

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