Astronomers uncover binary pair of stars that complete orbit around each other in three hours

Researchers believe the stars could drive a nova explosion

A team of astronomers has discovered two stars in a binary pair in the planetary nebula M3-1 which complete an orbit around each other in a little over three hours.

According to the scientists, led by David Jones of the Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias and the Universidad de La Laguna, the stars could drive a nova explosion - an unexpected event based on our current understanding of binary star evolution.

Using the telescopes of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, Jones' team looked at M3-1 over a period of several years. In the process they discovered and studied the binary stars in the centre of the nebula.

We saw that the apparently single star at the centre of the nebula was rapidly changing in brightness

"We knew M3-1 had to host a binary star, so we set about acquiring the observations required to prove this and to relate the properties of the nebula with the evolution of the star or stars that formed it" said Brent Miszalski, researcher at the Southern African Large Telescope, and co-author of the study.

The two stars are so close together that they cannot be resolved from the ground, so instead the presence of the second star is inferred from the variation of their observed combined brightness.

"When we began the observations, it was immediately clear that the system was a binary" added Henri Boffin, researcher at the European Southern Observatory in Germany.

The pair are likely to undergo a so-called nova eruption, the result of the transfer of material from one star to the other

"We saw that the apparently single star at the centre of the nebula was rapidly changing in brightness, and we knew that this must be due to the presence of a companion star."

The team discovered that the central star of the planetary nebula M3-1 has one of the shortest orbital period binary central stars known to date, at just over three hours. The ESO observations also show that the two stars - most likely a white dwarf with a low-mass main sequence companion - are almost touching.

As a result, the pair are likely to undergo a so-called nova eruption, the result of the transfer of material from one star to the other. When this reaches a critical mass, a violent thermonuclear explosion takes place and the system temporarily increases in brightness by up to a million times.

The team will now carry out further study of the nebula and others like it, helping to shed light on the physical processes and origins of novae and supernovae.

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