Mira double star system, Chandra X-ray telescope image. The system comprises Mira A (right), a huge red giant, and Mira B, a tiny white dwarf. Materia

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Mira double star system, Chandra X-ray telescope image. The system comprises Mira A (right), a huge red giant, and Mira B, a tiny white dwarf. Material from the red giant is attracted to the extremely dense white dwarf by its powerful gravity, and emits X-rays as it is accelerated and heated in an accretion disc around it. The two stars are separated by around 12 billion kilometres. Mira (Omicron Ceti) is a variable star. The regular pulsations in size of the red giant mean that it varies in brightness by a factor of around 1700 over a period of 331 days. It lies around 420 light years from Earth in the constellation Cetus. Image taken on 6th December 2003.

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Size: 2729px × 2320px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -ray, -rays, 06/12/2003, 2003, 21st, accretion, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, bridge, century, ceti, cetus, chandra, disc, disk, double, duo, dwarf, emission, giant, gravitational, interacting, interaction, mira, omicron, pair, red, space, star, stellar, variable, white, xray