Mergeburst

This suggests that it was a mergeburst of a K-type main sequence star and a lower mass companion. The distance estimate is uncertain and the peak luminosity is ≈ −6mag. It is plausible that other Galactic events also have similar[…]

One idea, put forward by Tylenda and Noam Soker of the Israeli Institute of Technology, is that the explosion was a 'mergeburst', formed by the collision and merger of two stars. Computer simulations of such an event neatly describe[…]

At the time it was suggested that this was yet another example of a mergeburst – an object undergoing an outburst following a collision or merger event. However, spectra taken subsequently show a very hot, UV bright object[…]

One hypothesis is that this was a mergeburst: the scream of two stars colliding. But it could also have been a rarely seen thermonuclear flare-up near the end of a giant star's life – or maybe a star swallowing giant planets.