Astronomers Discover 'Kissing' Stars That Are Destined For Catastrophic Fate
- 9 years ago
Two rare celestial bodies are so close that they touch, but scientists say they can’t keep this up for long.
Two stars in the Tarantula Nebula are so close they're said to be kissing, perhaps as a long goodbye before a shared catastrophic fate.
The vast cosmic duo is a double star system known as VFTS 352. The two stars orbit each other in around one day's time.
But forget about orbit; the stars are so close that they actually touch with such frequency that a bridge has formed between the two.
Stars have been known to touch before; typically a smaller star acts like a "vampire" and sucks matter out of a larger body.
Not so for VFTS 352; the stars in this system are roughly the same size; sharing an estimated 30 percent of their star stuff with one another.
Two stars in the Tarantula Nebula are so close they're said to be kissing, perhaps as a long goodbye before a shared catastrophic fate.
The vast cosmic duo is a double star system known as VFTS 352. The two stars orbit each other in around one day's time.
But forget about orbit; the stars are so close that they actually touch with such frequency that a bridge has formed between the two.
Stars have been known to touch before; typically a smaller star acts like a "vampire" and sucks matter out of a larger body.
Not so for VFTS 352; the stars in this system are roughly the same size; sharing an estimated 30 percent of their star stuff with one another.