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Keyword: whitedwarfs

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  • Evolved stars locked in fatalistic dance

    07/14/2011 6:00:53 AM PDT · by LibWhacker · 20 replies
    PhysOrg ^ | 7/13/11
    White dwarfs are the burned-out cores of stars like our Sun. Astronomers have discovered a pair of white dwarfs spiraling into one another at breakneck speeds. Today, these white dwarfs are so near they make a complete orbit in just 13 minutes, but they are gradually slipping closer together. About 900,000 years from now - a blink of an eye in astronomical time - they will merge and possibly explode as a supernova. By watching the stars converge, scientists will test both Einstein's theory of general relativity and the origin of some peculiar supernovae.The two white dwarfs are circling...