29
May
2007
May
2007
Exotic astronomy0
28-May-2007 Astronomers
Astronomers have been probing the properties of one of the most extreme binary star systems ever seen. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, LH54-425 consists of two O-stars, the most massive and luminous types of star in the Universe.
These giants are spinning around each other in just 2.25 days. They are so close together that they are almost certain to coalesce to form a huge, hot monster of a star.
“These stars are evolving in the blink of an eye compared to the sun, which has looked pretty much the same for over 4 billion years,” says Rosina Iping, leader of the team that made the observations using NASA’s Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite.
