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Dying Stars to Collide and Create Stellar Baby
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CfA astronomers have found a pair of white dwarf stars orbiting each other once every 39 minutes. In a few million years, they will merge and reignite as a helium-burning star. In this artist's conception, the reborn star is shown with a hypothetical world. An accompanying animation shows the merger process. CREDIT: David A. Aguilar (CfA) |
The collision of two dying stars can create a living one, scientists say.
Scientists have discovered a binary system of two dying stars, known as white dwarfs, set to collide and give birth to a new, living star.
Our sun — and indeed, more than 90 percent of all stars in our galaxy — will one day end up as white dwarf stars, which are made up of dim, fading stellar cores where nuclear fusion has stopped. These cooling embers, which make up about 10 percent of all stars in our galaxy, are typically about 40 to 90 percent of the mass of our sun but pack that all into an Earth-sized ball.
Past research had revealed pairs of white dwarfs whirling around each other. But the new study is the first time astronomers have observed two such stars set to collide and create another. [Video: When Stars Collide, Another is Born]
"These stars have already lived a full life. When they merge, they'll essentially be 'reborn' and enjoy a second life," said researcher Mukremin Kilic, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.
