How massive stars in binary systems turn into carbon factories
Massive stars with partners cast about twice as much carbon into space as their single peers
![image of a supernova remnant in the constellation Cassiopeia](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/111721_kc_binarystars_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
A massive star can give its galaxy lots of new carbon, especially if another star orbits the massive one. This composite image shows the remains of a massive star that exploded in the constellation Cassiopeia, with red indicating infrared radiation, yellow indicating visible light, and blue indicating X-rays.
O. Krause et al/Steward Observatory/JPL-Caltech/NASA (infrared); STScI/NASA (optical); CXC/SAO/NASA (X-ray)