Binary Stars To Light Up Sky As Red Nova In 2022

Star collisions may seem like incredible galactic events. But theoretically speaking, they occur in the galaxy only about once every 10,000 years. Thanks to ongoing improvements in technology, astronomers can now observe such events taking place, although there has been nobody yet who was able to witness such phenomena.

That may change, however, as Vox reported that a team of researchers from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were able to observe a binary star system that just may merge and explode in 2022 -- and it may be near enough to Earth that it will be visible to the naked eyes.

The findings, which were presented at the 229th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society last week in a presentation called "A Precise Prediction of a Stellar Merger and Red Nova Outburst," outlined how this binary pair of stars will merge in about six years' time. Study author Professor Lawrence Molnar and his team claimed that an outburst of light so bright will become the brightest object in the night sky at the time.

Professor Molnar and his colleagues have been observing the binary star system, known as KIC 9832227, since 2013. After conducting their own observations using the Calvin Observatory, they were able to conclude that the star was a contact binary -- they are close enough to share an atmosphere.

Business Insider reported that by 2015, the team was able to determine that the stars were close to an explosion called the "red nova" and put the event somewhere between the years 2018 to 2020. However, more observations put it past the said date and a new paper places it by 2022 -- the precise dates will be available as more studies are going to be made. The team will monitor KIC 9832227 with the Very Large Array (VLA), NASA's Infrared Telescope at Mauna Kea and the ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft.