14 DAY TRIAL // In about 700 million years, two mammoth stars that are now orbiting each other will get so close that they will end up colliding. When this happens, a massive explosion will take place.
Specifically, scientists expect that the ginormous star that will form when these two celestial bodies finally merge will collapse in on itself and birth a supernova.
As detailed by astronomers with the European Southern Observatory, these two stars that will soon crash into one another are located at the core of a planetary nebula dubbed Henize 2-428.
They sit so close to one another that they need just four hours to orbit each other. To get a better idea of just how close these stars are, check out the images accompanying this article.
The celestial bodies are both classified as white dwarfs, which means that they are extremely dense. In fact, it is estimated that their overall mass is roughly 1.8 times that of our Sun.
What’s interesting is that, although plenty of other white dwarfs have been discovered over the years, these two at the heart of the planetary nebula Henize 2-428 make up the most massive pair thus far documented.
Until now, the formation of supernovae Type Ia by the merging of two white dwarfs was purely theoretical. “The pair of stars in Henize 2-428 is the real thing!” explains astronomer David Jones.
