Image courtecy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Joel Kontinen
What do we know about the impossible star? Mystery of 'impossible' star resolved by three-body solution.
A white dwarf star orbiting a sun-like star was thought to be impossibly
small, but now astronomers have found another star in the system that solves
the puzzle.
The mystery of a star that seemed too small to exist has been solved – by the detection of another star hiding in the same system.
In 2019, astronomers announced the discovery of an unusual system called
KIC 8145411 in which a white dwarf – the dull, compact remnant left behind
after certain stars exhaust their nuclear fuel – was orbiting a sun-like star
every 450 days. The system is a rare example of a self-lensing binary.
Source:
Jonathan O’Callaghan 2024
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