An extremely rare collision of two white dwarfs creates a zombie star

Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany and the Russian Academy of Sciences have spotted an incredibly unusual and rare star in the middle of a gas cloud about 10,000 light-years from the Earth.

The star, baptized J005311, seems to be rising from its cosmic grave after the collision of two dead stars in the constellation Cassiopeia. The findings, published in Nature on May 21, reveal the nature of the exotic zombie star and its unusual properties. The team discovered this bizarre object using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope and then observed it using a terrestrial telescope at NASA's special observatory. astrophysics of Russia.

At the end of a small star's life, when all its fuel is exhausted, it turns into a "white dwarf" – a tiny, dense and dead star. For the most part, a white dwarf is made for after that. Bonn researchers have, however, examined the radiation emitted by the strange star and discovered that they lacked hydrogen and helium, usually present in a white dwarf.

Because of the unusual emission signal of J005311, the researchers suspect what they have detected is the result of a cosmic fusion between two white dwarfs that have encircled each other. Billions d & # 39; years.

"Such an event is extremely rare," says Gotz Gräfener, co-author of the study, in a press release. "There is probably not even half a dozen objects of this type in the Milky Way, and we have discovered one."

Generally, collisions of white dwarfs result in huge stellar explosions, called supernovae. But J005311 did not explode. Instead, he was revived and started burning again.

It shines about 40,000 times more than our sun, has a strong magnetic field, and has a stellar flow of winds at 16,000 kilometers per second (about 2,900 km per second). At around 200,000 degrees Celsius (360,000 degrees Fahrenheit), it's incredibly hot.

What destiny awaits the new star? Death, of course. This exceptional event only delayed its disappearance by a few thousand years. His second run for life will be over once he has exhausted all his fuel. At this point, it will collapse into a small star and explode.