runaway star


runaway star

A young star of spectral type O or early B with a very high space velocity, examples including AE Aurigae, 53 Arietis, and Mu Columbae. It has probably been flung out from a close binary star when its companion has exploded as a supernova.

runaway star

[′rən·ə′wā ′stär] (astronomy) A star of spectral type O or early B with an unusually high spatial velocity; believed to result from a supernova explosion in a close binary system.