Overview
- European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope data reveal a circum-binary gas ring formed from material the white dwarf fails to accrete.
- Observations indicate exceptionally fast mass transfer with thermonuclear burning on the white dwarf’s surface powering the system’s brightness.
- The two stars orbit every 12.3 hours about 10,000 light-years from Earth, consistent with an unstable, high-accretion state.
- Researchers forecast a likely nova outburst in the coming years that could be visible to the naked eye, while any supernova outcome and timing remain uncertain.
- The study led by Pasi Hakala is slated for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society with a preprint on arXiv, following earlier projections such as a 2083 explosion estimate presented in 2020.