Astronomers with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) identified a pair of stars orbiting one another so closely they appear to be kissing.
According to Space.com, the duo known as VFTS 352 represents two of the largest, brightest stars to ever be observed orbiting so closely to one another. In fact, they are so close their surfaces are overlapping one another in a cosmic kiss.
"The VFTS 352 is the best case yet found for a hot and massive double star that may show this kind of internal mixing," Leonardo A. Almeida a researcher at the University of São Paulo who lead a study on the stars, said in a press release. "As such it's a fascinating and important discovery."
The star duo lies about 160,000 light years from Earth in the Tarantula Nebula, a region known as a particularly active stellar nursery.
"If the stars are mixed well enough, they both remain compact and the VFTS 352 system may avoid merging," Selma de Mink, of University of Amsterdam and the lead theoretical astrophysicist on the study, said in the release. "This would lead the objects down a new evolutionary path that is completely different from classic stellar evolution predictions. In the case of VFTS 352, the components would likely end their lives in supernova explosions, forming a close binary system of black holes. Such a remarkable object would be an intense source of gravitational waves."
But the duo is also likely doomed to a death of spectacular proportions, the study's lead scientist said in the release.
Hugues Sana, of the University of Leuven in Belgium: "If it keeps spinning rapidly it might end its life in one of the most energetic explosions in the Universe, known as a long-duration gamma-ray burst."
