White Dwarf

A massive white dwarf star in the Milky Way — long overdue for its next periodic eruption — is closer to our solar system than previously thought and could threaten the Earth.

The latest observations of the white dwarf are giving scientists a better understanding of this potential supernova, as reported at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

The star is in a binary system called T Pyxidis, located in the Southern Hemisphere constellation Pyxis ("The Compass Box"). Researchers found that this is only 3,260 light-years from our solar system – much closer than previously thought. (A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, or about 6 trillion miles.)

The new findings suggest the white dwarf, considered close to us by cosmic standards, might eventually go supernova. Gamma radiation emissions could threaten the Earth with an energy equivalent to 1,000 simultaneous solar flares.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/100104-aas-close-supernova.html