Astronomers discover micronovae, a new kind of stellar explosion
A team of astronomers, with the help of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope , have observed a new type of stellar explosion -- a micronova. These outbursts happen on the surface of certain stars, and can each burn through around 3.5 billion Great Pyramids of Giza of stellar material in only a few hours.
A white dwarf in a two-star system can steal material, mostly hydrogen, from its companion star if they are close enough together. As this gas falls onto the very hot surface of the white dwarf star, it triggers the hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium explosively. In novae, these thermonuclear explosions occur over the entire stellar surface.
These new micronovae challenge astronomers' understanding of stellar explosions and may be more abundant than previously thought."It just goes to show how dynamic the Universe is. These events may actually be quite common, but because they are so fast they are difficult to catch in action," Scaringi explains.
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