Kissing stars

[PB666]

http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1540/

I see the big kaboom coming.

[Hannu]

Yes, unfortunately life is so short. It would be interesting to see how such extreme stars evolve. Or I am not sure. On the other hand, it would be better to invent real life time warp before watching a telescope half million years and wait a supernova.

[Endersmens]

The two stars in the extreme system VFTS 352 could be heading for a dramatic end, during which the two stars either coalesce to create a single giant star, or form a binary black hole.

I struggle to imagine what that would be like. Mind=blown.

[PB666]

Yes, unfortunately life is so short. It would be interesting to see how such extreme stars evolve. Or I am not sure. On the other hand, it would be better to invent real life time warp before watching a telescope half million years and wait a supernova.

Half a million years is not a long time at least in terms of a very settled universe. Stars formed, collapsed and nova more quickly 13b years back. Though for the sake of life thats a good thing, if Nova were going off every few weeks imagine how long life on earth would have lasted.

[YNM]

Hmm... Wouldn't it be a good test of Eddington limit ? I know these are young, but if they do merge, it'll be massive.

Also, tarantula nebula is cool... Both visually and scientifically !

Edited October 21, 2015 by YNM

[PB666]

Hmm... Wouldn't it be a good test of Eddington limit ? I know these are young, but if they do merge, it'll be massive.

Also, tarantula nebula is cool... Both visually and scientifically !

any good album of the nebula?

[Hannu]

Half a million years is not a long time at least in terms of a very settled universe.

Yes, half million years if nothing for universe. But half million years may be long time for this kind on extreme stars. The most massive stars are extremely bright and last just couple of millions of years. That kind of binaries are probably even more unstable.

Though for the sake of life thats a good thing, if Nova were going off every few weeks imagine how long life on earth would have lasted.

That is a good point. Supernovae are interesting but they may also be dangerous.

[J.Random]

Huh. I wonder why they didn't go kaboom already. Shouldn't tidal forces mess up the whole "gravity vs radiation pressure" balance when stars get that close to each other?

[PB666]

Huh. I wonder why they didn't go kaboom already. Shouldn't tidal forces mess up the whole "gravity vs radiation pressure" balance when stars get that close to each other?

The tidal forces would act along with convection to keep the heavier elements from building up in the center of the stars.

- - - Updated - - -

Here is the where for this binary.

http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2070.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060106.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140612.html

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-probes-interior-of-tarantula-nebula

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140217.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/multimedia/tarantula2012.html

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2231.html

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2011-350

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090331.html

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120516.html

[Hannu]

I think that other star have no significant effect to nuclear processes in cores if cores do not merge. Common outer layers are relatively thin gas and have small percent of total mass of the system. Fusion reactions are concentrated in quite small core volume. Cores of such massive stars are always convective.

[YNM]

I think that other star have no significant effect to nuclear processes in cores if cores do not merge. Common outer layers are relatively thin gas and have small percent of total mass of the system. Fusion reactions are concentrated in quite small core volume. Cores of such massive stars are always convective.

Massive star envelopes are, uh... massive. I mean, else you won't observe these stars going nova and spewing heavy material, as that requires their envelopes to also consist of heavy elements (that's the most prevailing explanation anyway, where the star looks like an "onion") But yeah, assuming these stars are so young, a contact binary is nothing to affect their cores.

[Armchair Rocket Scientist]

Hmm... Wouldn't it be a good test of Eddington limit ? I know these are young, but if they do merge, it'll be massive.

Also, tarantula nebula is cool... Both visually and scientifically !

I don't think 57 solar masses is enough to exceed the Eddington limit, since there are stars over 100 solar masses.

[YNM]

I don't think 57 solar masses is enough to exceed the Eddington limit, since there are stars over 100 solar masses.

If not, maybe it can help explain V383 Mon nova. It'll be bright... Hopefully visible through a 5" scope !

[PB666]

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-doomed-quasar-powerful-explosion.html

Another example of stars headed toward an explosive end.

[Findthepin1]

When will these collide, from our perspective? A few months?

[PB666]

1000s of years perhaps.