News of colliding stars cataclysm reaches Earth

09 January 2017 - 09:36 By SARAH KNAPTON
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At the beginning of the 3rd century people on Earth were oblivious to the fact that two stars were on a collision course - or of the subsequent cataclysmic explosion.

Now 1800 years later, the light from that crash is due to reach Earth, creating the "Boom Star".

Before their meeting the two were too dim to be seen by the naked eye but, in 2022, the newly formed Red Nova will burn so brightly in the constellation Cygnus that everyone will be able to see it.

"For the first time parents will be able to point to a dark spot in the sky and say, 'Watch, kids, there's a star hiding in there and soon it will light up'," said Matt Walhout, dean of research at Calvin College, Michigan, where the prediction of the collision was made.

For about six months the Boom Star will be one of the brightest in the sky before gradually dimming, returning to its normal brightness after two to three years.

Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, said: "Nobody has ever managed to predict the birth of a star before, so this is really unprecedented.

"There will be a race among amateur astronomers to spot it first."

The binary star system KIC9832227 - is 1800 light years away. The two suns orbit each other every 11 hours.

In 2013 Larry Molnar and his team at Calvin College noticed that the orbital speed was decreasing. And doing so faster and faster.

"The star is around 1800 light years away. Hence if we are right about the upcoming outburst, it actually occurred 1795 years ago, and the light from the outburst has been travelling toward us ever since.

"Explosions of this size occur about once a decade in our galaxy."

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