Cover Image: November 2002 Scientific American Magazine See Inside

When Stars Collide [Preview]

When two stars smash into each other, it can be a very pretty sight (as long as you¿re not too close by). These occurrences were once considered impossible, but they have turned out to be common in certain galactic neighborhoods

By Michael Shara















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Of all the ways for life on Earth to end, the collision of the sun and another star might well be the most dramatic. If the incoming projectile were

a white dwarf--a superdense star that packs the mass of the sun


This article was originally published with the title When Stars Collide.



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