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VFTS 352 is a
VFTS 352 is a contact binary
In astronomy, a contact binary is a binary star system whose component stars are so close that they touch each other or have merged to share their gaseous envelopes. A binary system whose stars share an envelope may also be called an overconta ...
star system away in the Tarantula Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus) is a large H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), forming its south-east corner (from Earth's perspective).
Discovery
The Tarantula Nebula was observed by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille durin ...
, which is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is the most massive and earliest spectral type overcontact system known.
The discovery of this O-type binary star system made use of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m acro ...
, and the description was published on 13 October 2015. VFTS 352 is composed of two very hot (40,000 °C), bright and massive stars of equal size that orbit each other in little more than a day. The stars are so close that their atmospheres overlap. Both stars are rotating at a rate equal to their orbital period; that is, they are tidally locked
Tidal locking between a pair of co-orbiting astronomical bodies occurs when one of the objects reaches a state where there is no longer any net change in its rotation rate over the course of a complete orbit. In the case where a tidally locked bo ...
. Extreme stars like the two components of VFTS 352 are thought to be the main producers of elements such as oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
.
The future of VFTS 352 is uncertain, and there are two possible scenarios. If the two stars merge, a very rapidly rotating star will be produced. If it keeps spinning rapidly it might end its life in a long-duration gamma-ray burst
In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten millise ...
. In a second hypothetical scenario, the components would end their lives in supernova explosions, forming a close binary black hole system, hence a potential gravitational wave source through black hole–black hole merger.
See also
*Contact binary (small Solar System body)
A contact binary is a small Solar System body such as a minor planet or a comet that is composed of two bodies that have gravitated toward each other until they touch, resulting in a bilobated, peanut-like overall shape. Contact binaries are o ...
, two asteroids gravitating toward each other until they touch
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:VFTS 352 Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud Binary stars O-type main-sequence stars Tarantula Nebula Extragalactic stars J05382845-6911191 Dorado (constellation) Emission-line stars