Sometime in the next few months a star called T Corona Borealis is going to explode. How do we know this? Because T CrB isn't going to be a supernova—which would be unpredictable and destroy the star for good. In fact, T CrB isn't even a single star. It's a binary star: a white dwarf orbiting around a red giant. The white dwarf sucks in material from the red giant, and every 80 years it gets dense enough to explode in a nova. But only the outer layer of the dwarf explodes. The rest is left intact to begin the cycle anew.
I was in the desert last night doing a bit of astrophotography, and while I was there I decided to shoot a picture of T CrB. This is the before picture. If the weather cooperates, I'll shoot the same picture when it explodes, and you'll see the same white dot except bigger. Exciting!
Yes, very!
How do we know this isn’t a photoshopped image of a snowstorm at night?
(See Princess Kate….)
White stars. Red stars. Dwarf stars. Giant stars. Why do we have to export our prejudices to stars? Why can't they all just be stars? Why can't they all just get along?
In this particular situation a white dwarf star is actively stealing material from a red giant. The historical analogies practically write themselves.
I, for one, salute you, sir! Get that Type 1a and I will be impressed as hell.