NASA Goddard
Supernova explosion in the GK Persei star system. An even brighter nova is expected to erupt from V Sagittae.
A greedy white dwarf relatively close to Earth is devouring its closest stellar companion at a rate never before observed. According to a new study, its explosion will trigger a supernova later this century.
A star system with extreme behavior could provide one of the most important astronomical phenomena most spectacular of the coming decades.
The accelerated evolution of 5 Arrowsa binary system located about 10 thousand light-years away, points to the imminent occurrence of a thermonuclear explosion so luminous that, according to astronomers, it could be observed from Earth even in broad daylight.
An analysis of the system, recently conducted by an international team of researchers, revealed that the white dwarf that is part of it is absorbing gas from its companion star. at an exceptional pace.
According to the authors of , published in August in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the compact object works like a nuclear reactor sustained.
“Matter accumulated on the white dwarf will likely produce a nova explosion in the coming years, during which V Sagittae will be visible to the naked eye”, explains Pablo Rodríguez-Gil, professor at the Institute of Astrophysics of Canarias and co-author of the study, at the University of Southampton.
The study concluded that the binary system, named V Sagittae, shines unusually brightly because the superdense white dwarf if you are feasting with your bigger twin in a true cosmic feast.
The study authors believe that the two stars are locked in an authentic extraterrestrial tango, orbiting around each other every 12.3 hours, and gradually approaching each other.
According to researchers, this dance could culminate in a colossal explosionso bright that it will be visible to the naked eye from Earth, despite the system being around 10,000 light-years away.
The conclusions are from an international team of astronomers that includes the professor, led by Pasi Hakala, from the University of Turku, in Finland, with the collaboration of Pablo Rodríguez Gil, from the Spanish Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias and the Universidad de La Laguna.
According to Phil Charles, researcher at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study, the results come solve a mystery around this pair of stars that has intrigued astronomers for a century.
“V Sagittae is not just any star system – it is the brightest of its kind and has confounded experts since it was discovered in 1902”, highlights the British astronomer.
“Our study shows that this extreme brightness is due to the fact that the white dwarf be sucking the life out of its companion starusing the matter it accumulates through accretion to transform it into a glowing inferno. It is a process so intense that it is triggering thermonuclear reactions on the surface of the white dwarf, making it shine like a real lighthouse in the night sky”, he adds.
The researchers, who captured this spectacle of cosmic destruction with the powerful Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile, made yet another discovery: detected a gas ringsimilar to a giant halo, involving both starsa consequence of the enormous amounts of energy generated by the hungry white dwarf.
It is unexpected ringformed from the debris of this chaotic feast, gives us a clue that could change what we know about how stars live and die, explains Pasi Hakalaresearcher at the University of Turku, Finland, and lead author of the study.
“The white dwarf cannot consume all the dough which is being transferred to it from its hot twin, thus forming this brilliant cosmic ring. The speed at which this doomed system oscillates wildly, likely due to its extreme luminosity, It’s a frantic sign of your violent end and imminent”, concludes the researcher.
