Scientists have discovered a "greedy" white dwarf star on Earth's doorstep, appearing to be "going thermonuclear" as it consumes its twin at a rate never before observed.
A global team of astronomers have been monitoring V Sagittae, observing it devour its stellar sibling and blazing intensely.
A spokesman from the University of Southampton said: "Their study found the double star, named V Sagittae, is burning unusually bright as the super-dense white dwarf is gorging on its larger twin in a feeding frenzy.
"Experts think the stars are locked in an extraterrestrial tango as they orbit each other every 12.3 hours, gradually pulling each other closer.
A global team of astronomers have been monitoring V Sagittae, observing it devour its stellar sibling
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"They say it could cause a massive explosion so bright it would be seen by the naked eye from Earth, some 10,000 lightyears away."
The first known catalogue of double stars was published by Giovanni Battista Hodierna in 1654, however William Herschel is credited with the analysis and systematic discovery of double stars in the late 18th century.
Scientists used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture high-quality images of the binary star, which helped solve a mystery that has left researchers baffled for over a century.
Hampshire University's Professor Phil Charles said: "V Sagittae is no ordinary star system – it’s the brightest of its kind and has baffled experts since it was first discovered in 1902.
Scientists used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture high-quality images of the binary star,
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"Our study shows that this extreme brightness is down to the white dwarf sucking the life out of its companion star, using the accreted matter to turn it into a blazing inferno.
"It’s a process so intense that it’s going thermonuclear on the white dwarf’s surface, shining like a beacon in the night sky."
Thermonuclear reactions in stars convert mass into energy, providing enough power to sustain stars throughout their lifespans.
Dr Pasi Hakala, the study's leader from the Finnish University of Turku, noted that the team had also found a ring of gas surrounding both stars, created by the vast sums of energy being generated by the white dwarf.
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Thermonuclear reactions in stars convert mass into energy, providing the enough power to sustain stars throughout their lifespans
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Dr Hakala said: "The white dwarf cannot consume all the mass being transferred from its hot star twin, so it creates this bright cosmic ring.
"The speed at which this doomed stellar system is lurching wildly, likely due to the extreme brightness, is a frantic sign of its imminent, violent end."
Dr Pablo Rodriguez-Gil, from Spain’s Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, added: "The matter accumulating on the white dwarf is likely to produce a nova outburst in the coming years, during which V Sagittae would become visible with the naked eye.
"But when the two stars finally smash into each other and explode, this would be a supernova explosion so bright it’ll be visible from Earth even in the daytime."
In 2020, during the 235th American Astronomical Society meeting in Hawaii, scientists predicted that V Sagittae will explode around the year 2083.
The prediction also noted that when the dramatic event takes place, the white dwarf will be one of the most luminous stars in the entire Milky Way galaxy.
LSU astronomer Bradley Schaefer said: "Over the next few decades, the star will brighten rapidly.
"In the final days of this death-spiral, all of the mass from the companion star will fall onto the white dwarf, creating a super-massive wind from the merging star, appearing as bright as Sirius, possibly even as bright as Venus."