A star that exploded like an atomic bomb still raises questions half a century later

The aftermath of a thermonuclear explosion in a double star system about 3,400 light-years away has been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. HM Sagittae, or simply HM Sge, is a so-called symbiotic system, in which a white dwarf feeds on a companion red giant star. The stolen material forms an accretion disk that swirls … Read more