Dracula’s Sandwich Could Actually Be A New Type Of Star
There are a ton of things out in space, so it makes sense to name new discoveries based on familiar things we have on Earth. That’s exactly what happened when astronomers at the US Naval Observatory dubbed the new object they discovered ‘Dracula’s Chivito,’ which is the name for a meaty sandwich that is the national dish of Uruguay. While it may look like a snack that literature’s most famous vampire would enjoy, it’s a baby star that is circled by a disk of dust and gas.
The Historic Discovery Of Dracula’s Sandwich
While Dracula’s Sandwich does look like a sandwich with a red center and two slices of bread surrounding it, there’s some thematic relevance to the name as well. In 1985, astronomers found a similar object in the Milky Way that was dubbed Gomez’s Hamburger. In 2008, Gomez’s Hamburger was confirmed to be a baby star.
Resembles A Sandwich Because Of Our Angle
Gomez’s Hamburger and Dracula’s Sandwich have some similarities other than being baby stars that look like a sandwich. Both baby stars are around 980 light-years away and are oriented in a unique way that gives us that sandwich-like appearance. Normally, we don’t see a star forming from this angle, so it’s certainly a rare sight.
Forming In Empty Pockets Of The Universe
Another unique thing about Dracula’s Sandwich and Gomez’s Hamburger is that these sandwich stars aren’t located where baby stars would normally form. Usually, baby stars are found in areas that are called stellar nurseries, which are filled with all the ingredients that stars need to spring to life. However, Dracula’s Sandwich and Gomez’s Hamburger are both on their own in empty space, which leaves a tantalizing mystery as to how they go there.
A Star’s Lifecycle
The formation of Dracula’s Sandwich and Gomez’s Hamburger isn’t quite as simple as stacking together a sandwich. Rather, stars are born from clouds of molecular gas that collapse under their own gravity. This begins the lifecycle of a baby star, which then spins and draws in material from the cloud to continue to grow and become a bigger, older star.
No One Knows How Dracula’s Sandwich Formed
So, with this in mind, it’s hard to tell how Dracula’s Sandwich star got to be all by its lonesome out in the void of space. The astronomers observed that the so-called buns, or filaments, of the baby star, are signs of a dissipating envelope around the star. Since baby stars create powerful winds that blow material away from them, these envelope-shaped formations show the astronomers that the star is still very young.
Rare Opportunity To Witness The Life Of A Star
In other words, the discovery of Dracula’s Sandwich gives scientists a golden opportunity to study this isolated baby star and possibly get some insight into how they ended up where they ended up. The discovery of this sandwich star, along with Gomez’s Hamburger, also suggests that there could be more of these lonesome baby stars than astronomers previously assumed. Likely, isolated baby stars are still a rare occurrence, but it will be interesting to see what other information can be gleaned from Dracula’s Sandwich as the little star continues to form.
