Chandra X-ray Image: Cannibal star Devours it's companion

Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show new evidence of a "cannibal" star that recently devoured its companion star or planet, possibly also spawning a second generation of exoplanets in the process.

The composite image on the left shows X-ray and optical data for BP Piscium (BP Psc), a more evolved version of our sun, located about 1,000 light-years from Earth. Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al), Optical (UCO/Lick/STScI/M.Perrin et al); Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

 Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory showed that the star, called BP Piscium (BP Psc), is a more-evolved version of our sun, but with a surrounding disk of dust and gas usually associated with young stars.

Optical data also revealed a pair of jets, several light-years long, extending from the poles of the star and shooting material at high velocities out of the system in opposite directions. These jets, too, are typical of a very young star. 

Normally, a young star grows bigger as debris from the surrounding disk falls onto it. The star incorporates about 90 percent of the dusty, gaseous material and recycles the remainder through its jets.