This beautiful nebula
hides a violent past,
an event that altered the fate
of the stellar pair in it
forever.
ESO NEWS Clash of stars solves stellar mystery
The two stars in HD 148937 are very different:
one is much younger than the other;
one is magnetic, the other one is not.
Such large differences are rare for stellar pairs
and point to a complicated past,
now unravelled thanks to nine years of ESO data.
There were originally three stars here,
until two of them clashed and merged.
This violent event
rejuvenated and magnetised one of the stars
and created a stunning nebula around the pair.
Music: Stellardrone – Endeavour. Written by: E. Reiriz Martínez, L. Spillman, D. Curic. Footage and photos: ESO, M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, A. Tsaousis, B. Tafreshi, M. Zamani, VPHAS+ team. Acknowledgements: CASU.