A white dwarf will explode in the next few million years

The European Space Agency's (ESA) XMM-Newton telescope has obtained the first close-up image of a white dwarf moving around its twin star, this dwarf can form a case. Supernova explosion in a few million years to come. These explosions are used as milestones to measure the distances in the universe and thus help to understand the expansion of the universe. This new finding is considered to be of the same importance as the discovery of the ancient stone Rosetta that veiled the secret of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Astronomers began tracking this secret object since 1997, when they found an object emitting X-rays near stars HD 49798. Now, thanks to the ultra-sensitive XMM-Newton telescope, the object The secret body has been tracked in detail in its orbit. Observations show that it is a white dwarf, the remainder of a dead star, radiating X-rays in the universe.

Sandro Mereghetti, staff of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, and collaborators also discovered that this is not a normal white dwarf star. They measured it and found that its mass doubled the initial estimate. Most white dwarfs have a mass of 0.6 solar masses and about the same size as the Earth.But this white dwarf weighs at least twice that amount and is only half the diameter of the Earth. Its rotation frequency is 13s / round, the fastest known in all white dwarfs.

Illustration of white dwarf star and its couple star, HD49798. ( Photo: Francesco Mereghetti, backdrop: NASA, ESA and TM Brown (STScI))

The result of the above mass is certainly correct because the XMM-Newton telescope introduced data that allowed scientists to use the most direct calculation of the mass of a white dwarf, which is the Gravitational force was invented by Isaac Newton in the 17th century. It is likely that this white dwarf has grown to such an extraordinary mass by stealing gas from its twin star, the process by which heaven International literature is often called 'accretion' ('accretion'). At 1.3 times the mass of the Sun, this white dwarf is now very close to the danger limit.

When a mass of 1.4 solar is reached, any white dwarf will explode or collapse, forming a more solid object called a neutron star. Exploding white dwarfs is the leading explanation for 'group Ia supernovae', the glowing event often used by astronomers as a landmark to measure the expansion of the universe. Until now, astronomers have never found an 'accretion' white dwarf that has a defined mass in a binary star system.

'This discovery is seen as the Rosetta stone in the universe. Determining the exact mass of the two stars in a binary star system is extremely important. Now we can study more closely and try to reconstruct the history of this dwarf, thereby calculating and making predictions about its future, 'Mereghetti said.

The future of this star will surely be interesting. It looks like it will explode in a few million years. Although this time is still very far away and we don't have to worry about the dangers posed to the Earth, it is also a short enough time for the explosion to become a universal event of interest. Calculations show that it will initially glow very strongly with the intensity of the Moon, bright enough for you to observe in the daylight with the naked eye.

Our descendants will see a spectacular scene. Although it was not witnessed in person, but thanks to XMM-Newton, we also knew this event in advance.