Scientists have discovered a dead star that may soon explode in a supernova so bright that the explosion could be visible to the naked eye on Earth during the day. The star, named V Sagittae, is located 10,000 light-years from Earth and is a white dwarf star that has been feeding on a companion star for matter.

According to scientists, the two stars are locked in an "extraterrestrial tango", orbiting each other every 12.3 hours and gradually moving closer together. The findings were published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society by an international team of astronomers.

Phil Charles, a researcher at the University of Southampton, said, "V Sagittae is no ordinary star system – it's the brightest of its kind and has baffled experts since it was first discovered in 1902. Our study shows that this extreme brightness is down to the white dwarf sucking the life out of its companion star, using the accreted matter to turn it into a blazing inferno."

He added, "It's a process so intense that it's going thermonuclear on the white dwarf's surface, shining like a beacon in the night sky."

Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, scientists discovered a ring of gas, similar to a giant halo, around the two stars. The halo has formed from the debris of the white dwarf, which cannot consume all the mass being transferred from its hot companion.

Pablo Rodriguez-Gil from Spain's Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias explained, "The matter accumulating on the white dwarf is likely to produce a nova outburst in the coming years, during which V Sagittae would become visible with the naked eye."

He added that when the two stars eventually collide, the resulting supernova explosion will be a spectacular sight from Earth.

This discovery gives scientists a rare chance to observe a supernova in our galaxy and learn more about how stars live and die. V Sagittae’s unusual brightness and intense activity make it one of the most exciting star systems to watch in the coming years.

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