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Astronomers have discovered a unique star system named Apep, located about 8,000 light-years from Earth. This system contains two massive Wolf-Rayet stars, one of which is nearing the end of its life and could produce a powerful gamma-ray burst, an explosion that releases immense energy. Gamma-ray bursts have been observed in other galaxies but never in our own.
Apep’s stars create a striking pinwheel pattern as they orbit each other, throwing dust into the expanding winds. The winds travel at nearly 12 million kilometers per hour. Despite the potential for a gamma-ray burst, Earth is not in danger. The system challenges existing theories about gamma-ray bursts, as it contains high metallicity stars, which were previously thought to inhibit such explosions. Researchers continue to study Apep, hoping to understand this unusual stellar system better.