A team of astronomers from Europe, Britain, and America has made a groundbreaking discovery in the Milky Way galaxy. Using the GAIA orbital telescope and the WHT ground-based telescope, they found 34 binary white dwarf systems close to our solar system. The most notable find is the WDJ181058.67+311940.94 system, located 159 light-years away, consisting of two white dwarfs just 2.5 million kilometers apart – about 60 times closer than the distance between Earth and the Sun.
The combined mass of these white dwarfs exceeds the solar mass by 1.55 times, making it a promising candidate for a type 1a supernova in approximately 23 billion years. Type 1a supernovae are crucial for measuring distances in space and tracking the universe’s expansion rate.
According to Dr. Ingrid Pelisoli of the University of Warwick, the discovery suggests that pairs of white dwarfs are relatively common. Each finding brings astronomers closer to solving the mystery of how these supernovae form. The study of binary white dwarf systems can refine models of gravitational waves and provide insights into dark energy, the expanding universe, and stellar remnants.
This breakthrough has significant implications for our understanding of the physics behind type 1a supernovae and their role in measuring cosmic distances and understanding galaxy evolution. As more systems like WDJ181058.67+311940.94 are discovered, they may offer precise data to improve our knowledge of these phenomena.
Source: https://www.azernews.az/region/239948.html