Cosmic Dance: Neutron Star Unravels its Companion

Astronomers have discovered an intermediate-mass stripped star in a close binary system, providing insights into the evolution of merging stars. The stripped star, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, is expected to undergo a supernova and collapse into a neutron star. If its companion star survives, the neutron star will eventually strip hydrogen from it, leading to the formation of another neutron star or black hole. Ultimately, the two stars will merge in a cataclysmic explosion, resulting in the formation of a single black hole.