New Delhi, Sept 12: Astronomers have identified a distant star system, V Sagittae, about 10,000 light-years away, that could one day explode in a spectacular event visible from Earth.
The system is made up of a white dwarf star that is pulling in material from its larger companion, creating extreme brightness. Scientists say this feeding process may soon trigger a nova outburst, making V Sagittae briefly visible to the naked eye.
In the longer term, researchers predict the two stars will merge in a massive supernova explosion, so bright it could even be seen from Earth in daylight. The findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, solve a century-old puzzle about V Sagittae’s unusual behaviour.
The system is a binary star pair, locked in a tight orbit of 12.3 hours. The white dwarf — a dense, compact stellar remnant — is pulling material from its larger twin, creating what astronomers describe as a “blazing inferno.”
As more matter accumulates on the white dwarf’s surface, scientists warn of an impending nova outburst, a stellar eruption that could briefly make V Sagittae visible to the naked eye. Dr. Pablo Rodríguez Gil said, “The matter accumulating on the white dwarf is likely to produce a nova outburst in the coming years, during which V Sagittae would become visible without a telescope.”
V Sagittae, discovered in 1902, has puzzled scientists for over a century due to its exceptional brightness. Now, research led by Dr. Pasi Hakala of the University of Turku, with contributions from Professor Phil Charles of the University of Southampton, has uncovered the cause.
Professor Charles explained, “V Sagittae is no ordinary star system — it’s the brightest of its kind and has baffled experts since it was first discovered. Our study shows this extreme brightness is down to the white dwarf sucking the life out of its companion star.”
For now, astronomers can only monitor the system’s behaviour and await the outburst. If predictions prove correct, V Sagittae could become one of the most spectacular celestial events witnessed in human history, offering people around the world a rare chance to see a cosmic explosion with the naked eye.
