Astronomy › Section Q · The death of stars › Topic Q.5
Binary star evolution and gamma-ray bursts
A dead star with a living partner does not stay quiet. Gas flowing between them powers novae, X-ray bursts and white dwarf supernovae, while the most powerful explosions of all, gamma-ray bursts, come from collapsing stars and colliding neutron stars.
In this topic
- Stars with partners
- Novae: explosions on the surface
- Type Ia supernovae: destroying a white dwarf
- Standard candles
- Worked example: a standard-candle distance
- Neutron stars with companions
- The mystery of gamma-ray bursts
- Worked example: why bursts must be beamed
- Long and short bursts
- Bursts as cosmic probes
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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