CX330
Loneliest star in the Milky Way
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CX330 (also known as CXOGBS J173643.8-282122) is an extremely isolated young stellar object (YSO) located in the central bulge of the Milky Way, approximately 25,000 light-years from Earth. Identified in 2009 through its X-ray emission, it is the most isolated known young star, situated over 1,000 light-years from the nearest star-forming region (nearest star-forming region from CX330 is NGC 6383 followed by Pipe Nebula and Corona Australis Molecular Cloud).[2] CX330 is a FU Orionis-type protostar undergoing episodic accretion outbursts, making it a unique laboratory for studying star formation in low-density environments.[4][5][6][7][8]
Artistic Representation of CX330 Star system | |
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox ICRS | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Ophiuchus[1] |
| Right ascension | 17h 36m 43.99s[2] |
| Declination | −28° 21′ 22.4″[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Evolutionary stage | Young stellar object[2] |
| Spectral type | ? |
| Variable type | FU Ori |
| Astrometry | |
| Distance | 25,000[2] ly |
| Other designations | |
| CXOGBS J173643.8-282122, OGLE BLG653.19 81200[3] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
Discovery
CX330 was first detected in 2009 during a deep X-ray survey of the Galactic Center conducted with the Chandra X-ray Observatory.[9] The source, cataloged as CXOGBS J173643.8-282122, displayed hard X-ray emission characteristic of magnetically active pre-main-sequence stars.[6][2][10]
Follow-up infrared observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope (2007) and WISE (2010) revealed a dramatic brightening of over 2 magnitudes in the mid-infrared, confirming an accretion outburst.[6] Other observations are done using the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) and Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) survey.[11][12]