A mysterious object devouring a star has been discovered in space

Astronomers have discovered for the first time a "feasting" white dwarf star - the object V Sagittae, located just 10,000 light-years from Earth. It turns out that the super-dense white dwarf is literally "sucking the life" out of its larger neighbor, absorbing its matter at a record speed. The work is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).

Scientists have established that the binary system rotates every 12.3 hours, gradually getting closer. This interaction is accompanied by a dazzling glow, which astronomers observed using the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

"V Sagittae is not an ordinary system, its unusual brightness has puzzled specialists since 1902. Our research shows that it is caused by the white dwarf absorbing matter from its companion star, turning it into fuel for thermonuclear processes on its surface," explained Professor Phil Charles from the University of Southampton.

In addition, researchers discovered a ring of gas surrounding both stars. It formed from excess matter that the white dwarf cannot "digest" fast enough.

"This bright gas ring indicates that the system is experiencing the final stages of its life and is moving toward a catastrophic finale," noted the work's leader, Dr. Pasi Hakala from the University of Turku.

According to Dr. Pablo Rodriguez-Gil from the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, the accumulation of matter on the surface of the white dwarf may lead to a nova outburst - a temporary flash of brightness in which V Sagittae will become visible to the naked eye. However, the final stage will be much more dramatic: the collision of stars and subsequent supernova will flash so brightly that they can be seen from Earth even during the day.