Complete Stellar Collapse: unusual star system proves that stars can die quietly
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alejandro Vigna-Gomez, University of Copenhagen
New research by astrophysicists at the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute presents the strongest evidence to date that very massive stars can succumb with far more stealth and discretion than as supernovae. Indeed, their investigation suggests that, with enough mass, a star’s gravitational pull can be so strong that no explosion takes place upon its death. Instead, the star can go through what is known as a complete collapse.
This discovery is linked to the phenomenon of disappearing stars, which has interested astronomers in recent years, and it may provide both a clear-cut example as well as a plausible scientific explanation for phenomena of this kind.
This discovery has been prompted by the recent observation of an unusual binary star system at the edge of our galaxy called VFTS 243 [in the Tarantula Nebula]. Here, a large star and black hole roughly 10 times more massive than our Sun orbit one another.
Complete Stellar Collapse: unusual star system proves that stars can die quietly
