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Star supernova 'could wipe out Earth'

A star in our galaxy is ready to explode and could wipe out the Earth if it does, according to American astronomers.

Sky News reports astronomers from the Villanova University in Philadelphia conducted a study showing a star called T Pyxidis is much closer than previously thought.

They say it is set to self destruct in an explosion called a supernova - the force of '20 billion billion billion megatons of TNT.'

The result of this impending doomsday scenario could cause an explosion which strips away the Earth's ozone layer and allow deadly space radiation into our atmosphere.

It has been reported the satellite has shown the T Pyxidis as two stars, with one sucking in gas and steadily growing.

When that star reaches a critical mass, it will blow itself to pieces, becoming "as bright as all the other stars in the galaxy put together and shine like a beacon halfway across the universe."

The Hubble Telescope has been photographing the star, and astronomers believe it has been gearing up for its big bang with a series of smaller "burps" called novas.

"The star may certainly become a supernova soon," said vice-president of the UK's Society for Popular Astronomy Robin Scagell.

"But soon could be a long way off, so don't have nightmares."

Scientists from the Americn Astronomical Society in Washington believe the next blast is overdue, as the novas were occuring every 20 years since 1890, but stopped after 1967.