Astronomers have identified an incredibly uncommon duo of swirling stars located approximately 150 light-years distant, and these celestial bodies are on a path towards colliding with each other.
When they crash into each other, they will detonate as a type 1a supernova and shine about ten times more brightly than the moon in the evening sky.
Type 1a supernovae represent a distinctive category of cosmic explosions. These events serve as crucial tools for gauging the distance from Earth to their respective host galaxies.
These occur when a white dwarf gains an excessive amount of mass and subsequently erupts as it can no longer support itself against its gravitational forces.
For many years, it has been hypothesized that the majority of type Ia supernovae occur due to the explosion of two orbiting white dwarf stars.
The more massive white dwarf in the binary takes matter from its companion, resulting in either that star or both stars undergoing an explosion. This type of system was discovered for the first time and located close to our galaxy, the Milky Way.
"For many years, anticipation had built up around the discovery of a nearby large double white dwarf binary system. Therefore, when I initially detected this highly massive system practically at our galaxy’s front door, I became instantly thrilled," stated James Munday, who leads the research team and works as a researcher at the University of Warwick.
The team promptly traced the binary star system to ascertain precisely how condensed it was. They recognized that they had found the initial pair of white dwarfs destined to create a type Ia supernova. This newly identified system is additionally the most massive of its sort, boasting a cumulative mass 1.56 times greater than that of our Sun.
At such a massive size, these stars are destined to conclude their life cycles with an explosive supernova, regardless of circumstances. Nevertheless, this cosmic detonation remains eons away—approximately 23 billion years into the future—and poses absolutely no threat to Earth despite being relatively near our solar neighborhood.
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At present, the white dwarfs are circling each other in an orbital path lasting over 14 hours. Throughout billions of years, gravitational waves will lead these stars to move faster and get progressively nearer to one another.
In the time leading up to the supernova, their velocity will be extremely high, causing them to finish an orbit in approximately 30 to 40 seconds.
In the case of the supernova event, mass will be transferred from one white dwarf star to another, resulting in a uncommon and intricate supernova explosion.
When the surface of the dwarf accretes mass, it will erupt at the site of accumulation. Following this, its core will detonate, propelling debris outward in every direction.
It will crash into the less massive white dwarf, triggering additional outbursts. In the end, the whole system will be annihilated by an explosive power far exceeding that of a nuclear bomb.
The results were published in the journal Nature Astronomy .
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