What color would the end star be if a red star and a blue star collided?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the hypothetical scenario of a collision between a red star and a blue star, exploring the potential outcomes, particularly the color of the resulting star. Participants touch on the dynamics of star collisions, the conditions under which they occur, and the implications for the color of the end star.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses curiosity about the color of the end star resulting from a collision between a red star and a blue star.
  • Another participant questions the mechanisms that might cause a star to accelerate towards another star, indicating a lack of expertise in astrophysics.
  • A participant mentions that star collisions do occur, particularly in dense environments like the core of galaxies or globular clusters, and references a specific case of a blue giant being ejected from the galaxy after interaction with a black hole.
  • It is noted that the mass of the red and blue stars would influence the color of the resulting star, with a suggestion that the end star would likely be blue due to the characteristics of hydrogen-burning massive stars.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying levels of knowledge about star collisions, and while there is some agreement on the rarity of such events, the discussion remains unresolved regarding the specific outcomes of a red and blue star collision.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the dependence on the mass of the stars involved and the conditions under which collisions occur, highlighting the complexity of predicting the outcome of such events.

Eridanus1
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Sooner or later its bound to happen. Has there been a recent observed colliding force between two stars in our Galaxy?

i'm keen to see a collision between a red star and a blue one to know what colour the end star will be.

E
 
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Im not a astro guy, but what would make a star 'accelaerate' in the first place towards another star?
 
Stars move around all the time so collisions do happen. Just recently you might have eard about this blue giant they detected being hurled out of the galaxy at high speed after "dancing" with a black hole.
The november 2002 issue of Scientific American features the subject of star collisions. You will see it happen mainly with old binary star system where gravity has finaly pulled the two stars together. Mostly the densest one will sucks in the other before they actualy collide, creating an acretion disc around itself. Here's a helpfull image of a white dwarf getting cossy with a red giant. Must be 18 or older.

http://physics.uoregon.edu/~courses/BrauImages/Chap21/FG21_002.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Eridanus1 said:
Sooner or later its bound to happen. Has there been a recent observed colliding force between two stars in our Galaxy?

Yes, but it's very rare. Collisions are only frequent in the core of the galaxy and the centers of globular clusters.



i'm keen to see a collision between a red star and a blue one to know what colour the end star will be.

E

It would depend on the mass of the red and blue star. More than likely it would be blue, as that's the color that hydrogen-burning massive stars settle into.
 

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