A star that is travelling fast enough to escape the gravitational clutches of our galaxy has been discovered by a team of astronomers . The amazing stellar object attained its rapid speed when a nearby star exploded as a supernova , sending it out of the Milky Way . At its current speed it would make the journey from Earth to the moon in just five minutes - a trip which took the Apollo spacecraft three days . Scroll down for a video showing an artist 's impression of the event . Astronomers in Hawaii have found the fastest 'unbound ' star in the galaxy . Called US 708 it is moving at 745 miles ( 1,200km ) per second . It will leave the galaxy in about 25 million years . This artist 's concept shows a star ( left ) being ejected from the galaxy , although in reality the supernova would have been faded long ago . The star , known as US 708 , was first discovered in 1982 by Dr Peter Usher of Pennsylvania State University but had since then remained ignored . However , a team of astronomers led by the University of Hawaii at Manoa has now re-examined the star , and found that it breaks the galactic speed record for an 'unbound ' star . US 708 is almost 62,000 light-years from Earth , and is on a path that will take it out of the Milky Way in about 25 million years . Type 1a : A white dwarf accumulates material from a stellar companion until it undergoes runaway nuclear fusion and explodes . Non-standard type 1a : Two white dwarfs merge until their combined mass causes an explosion . Type II : A star at least nine times the mass of the sun eventually experiences a core collapse as its fuel runs out , causing it to explode . Type 1b and 1c : A star undergoes core collapse but most of its outer hydrogen has already been lost to stellar winds . Hypernova : Extreme type of supernova , 50 times as energetic as other supernovas , resulting in a black hole . The exact cause of them is unknown . Using the 10-metre Keck II and Pan-Starrs1 telescopes in Hawaii , the astronomers calculated that the star is moving at about 745 miles ( 1,200km ) per second . This makes it the fastest ‘ rogue ’ star in the galaxy - one that is no longer orbiting the centre . ‘ At that speed , you could travel from Earth to the moon in five minutes , ’ said Dr Eugene Magnier of the University of Hawaii at Manoa . ‘ By observing the sky repeatedly over several years , the Pan-Starrs1 survey , let us make a movie of the motions of the stars in the sky . ‘ That enables us to study the behavioirs of extremely rare and weird stars like US 708. ’ While a handful of other stars escaping the galaxy are known , this is the first to have been found that was ejected by a thermonuclear supernova explosion . US 708 , which is a helium-rich white dwarf , was propelled at high speeds when a more massive white dwarf star nearby in a tight binary blew up . At the speed US 708 is travelling it would make the journey from Earth to the moon in just five minutes - a trip which took the Apollo astronauts three days . Pictured is the view of Earth seen by the Apollo 8 crew as they circled the moon in December 1968 . This particular class of supernova is known as type 1a , where material is transferred between one star and another until one reaches a critical mass , and explodes . Often , the secondary star is obliterated in the resulting explosion , or pushed away at a more sedate speed . It is 'pushed ' away because the loss of its companion means it no longer has a star to orbit , but retains its forwards momentum , so it is flung into space . The specific characteristics of this binary system , its distance and the mass of its companion , allowed US 708 to remain intact while still achieving record speeds for an unbound star . Stars like the sun are bound to our galaxy by its gravity , and orbit its centre at relatively moderate velocities , typically tens to a few hundreds of kilometres per second . Only so-called hyperveolocity stars are known to travel so fast that they are unbound to the galaxy . US 708 , which is a helium-rich white dwarf , was propelled at high speeds when a more massive white dwarf star nearby in a tight binary blew up ( illustration shown ) . It is the first star found to be leaving the galaxy caused by such an event , and could provide an insight into these types of supernova . In addition , to escape from the Milky Way an object needs to exceed the ‘ escape velocity ’ - the strength of its gravitational pull . The escape velocity of our galaxy is about 375 miles ( 600km ) per second , which US 708 easily exceeds . Astronomers hope that studying the star could help reveal how such helium-rich stars and thermonuclear supernovae are linked .
Astronomers in Hawaii have found the fastest 'unbound ' star in the galaxy . Called US 708 it is moving at 745 miles ( 1,200km ) per second . It will leave the galaxy in about 25 million years . The star was given its rapid speed due to its companion going supernova . It is the first star found to be leaving the galaxy caused by such an event .