A star wars story: Astronomer boldly predicts two stars to collide in 2022
MOSCOW. KAZINFORM A team of astronomers has predicted that 2022 will see a red nova event, in which two stars slamming into one another will briefly become the brightest thing in the night sky. Only a handful of these events have been observed, but the 2022 event is expected to be particularly luminous and spectacular, Sputniknews reported.
The team, led by Lawrence Molnar of Calvin College, has been carefully monitoring a binary star system elegantly named KIC 9832227. Located within the Cygnus constellation some 1,800 light-years from Earth, the stellar pair have been engaged in a game of cosmic chicken that will come to an end when the stars collide.
Astronomers have been observing that the orbital speed of the two stars around each other is increasing, indicating that they are moving closer together. The only possible end is for the two stars to pull into one another's atmospheres and collide, according to Molnar's team.
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