Astronomers have detected a previously unknown type of stellar explosion called a micronova involving thermonuclear blasts at the polar regions of a type of burned-out star called a white dwarf after it has siphoned material from a companion star.
The researchers said on Wednesday a micronova is by far the least powerful type of star explosions now known - less energetic than a blast called a nova in which a white dwarf's entire surface blows up and tiny compared to a supernova that occurs during the death throes of some giant stars.
At the base of accumulating columns of gas at the white dwarf's poles, pressure and temperature rise, causing thermonuclear fusion that converts hydrogen into helium. The explosion is localized and does not destroy the white dwarf. In fact, the micronova cycle can repeat itself. Each micronova event burns through material the equivalent of one large asteroid, or just over one millionth of Earth's mass, Scaringi said.
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