The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared the magnificent glimpses of an ‘enigmatic’ star system 3,400 light-years away, dubbing it a 'cosmic dance of fire and ice'.
''It's a tale of two stars: a red giant generously donates material to its white dwarf companion, creating a dazzling display.
The post includes four images that piece the puzzle of the symbiotic star system Mira HM Sge together.
The bridge of gas connecting the giant star to the white dwarf presently spans about 3.2 billion kilometres.
Reacting to the image, one user wrote, ''really amazing this dance of swapping material between the red giant and the white dwarf.''
The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared the magnificent glimpses of an ‘enigmatic’ star system 3,400 light-years away, dubbing it a 'cosmic dance of fire and ice'.
The symbiotic star, located in the Sagitta constellation, comprises a red giant and its white dwarf companion, which are becoming increasingly hotter and dimmer.
''It's a tale of two stars: a red giant generously donates material to its white dwarf companion, creating a dazzling display. The red haze? That's the red giant's powerful wind! But Mira HM Sge is a real enigma,'' the ESA wrote in its Instagram post on Friday (June 14).
The post includes four images that piece the puzzle of the symbiotic star system Mira HM Sge together.
The Mira HM Sge star system
As per the ESA, the mysterious stars startled astronomers earlier in 1975 with a ''nova-like outburst''— growing some 250 times brighter between April and September of that year.
However, unlike most novae, it has not faded in the ensuing decades.
Recent observations indicate that the system has gotten hotter, but paradoxically faded a little. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ESA - European Space Agency (@europeanspaceagency) × “This system first flared up as a nova in 1975. The red nebulosity is evidence of the stellar wind. The nebula is about one-quarter light-year across,” its profile on the NASA website explains.
Infrared spectral data shows that the giant star, which produces copious amounts of dust returned to its normal behaviour within only a couple years of the explosion but dimmed in recent years.
“Thanks to Hubble and the retired SOFIA telescope, we’re piecing together the puzzle. Hubble’s ultraviolet data reveals scorching temperatures around the white dwarf, while SOFIA detected water flowing at incredible speeds, hinting at a swirling disk of material,” the caption of the post reads.
Watch | Study: Secret aliens could be here on Earth already × The estimated temperature of the white dwarf and accretion disk has increased from less than 220,000 degrees Celsius in 1989 to greater than 250,000 degrees Celsius, Ultraviolet data from the Hubble indicates.
The bridge of gas connecting the giant star to the white dwarf presently spans about 3.2 billion kilometres.
Reacting to the image, one user wrote, ''really amazing this dance of swapping material between the red giant and the white dwarf.''
Another commented, ''This is so beautiful and enigmatic, love it.'' A third said, ''awesome shots.''
