IFL SCIENCE: A Mysterious Ancient Explosion May Have Been Caused By A Dead Star Ripping A Failed Star To Shreds

Description

For the first time ever, astronomers have found evidence for a white dwarf and brown dwarf colliding – and the event may have been seen on Earth back in 1670.

Reported in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, an international team of scientists used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe the remnants of the suspected explosion, more than 2,000 light-years from Earth.