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Two neutron stars locked in orbit could reveal space mysteries

two-neutron-stars.Image source, Arecibo Observatory/University of Central Florida

Astronomers have been looking at two collapsed stars, which could reveal some of the universe's biggest mysteries!

Known as neutron stars, these super dense astronomical objects have a mass the same as hundreds of Earths, but are the size of a city.

The two stars are locked in a "fiercely tight" orbit, and scientists think they will eventually smash into each other releasing massive amounts of energy - but don't worry, they think this will happen around half a billion years from now!

Scientist Dr Ferdman said that because one of the stars is "significantly larger" than the other, this could result in a far more powerful explosion than one with neutron stars of the same mass.

The first ever neutron star collision observed by scientists happened in 2017, and it changed the way scientists think about the universe.

The researchers say that neutron star collisions could help to unlock some of the biggest mysteries space science, including a more accurate definition of the Hubble Constant - which is how fast the universe is expanding.