Tag: binary star
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Vampire Star Unveiled: IXPE Reveals Feeding in a Dead White Dwarf System
Scientists Catch the First Glimpse of a ‘Vampire Star’ Feeding on Its Victim In a landmark discovery, researchers using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) have captured the first detailed view of the inner region where a dying white dwarf siphons material from a close stellar companion. This “vampire star” scenario, where a compact remnant…
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White Dwarf Binary: First Look at the Inner Region
A New View into a Dead-Star Dance About 200 light-years from Earth, a binary pairing hides in plain sight: a white dwarf—the dense remnant of a once-sunlike star—and its larger stellar companion. Recent observations provide the first close look at the innermost region where their gravitational and magnetic forces shape a cosmic waltz of matter.…
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Scientists See the Innermost Region of a White Dwarf Binary for the First Time
Unveiling a Rare Cosmic Dance About 200 light-years from Earth, a binary star system is offering scientists a rare, close look at the innermost region where a white dwarf and a companion star engage in a complex gravitational and magnetic ballet. The dead star, a dense white dwarf, siphons material from its larger partner, forming…
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Huge red giant star has newfound companion – and it may be a bad neighbor
A new companion to a looming red giant Astronomers have announced a surprising discovery: a nearby red giant star, already in the late stages of its life, now appears to have a closely orbiting stellar companion. The presence of this companion could dramatically alter the red giant’s behavior, affecting how it loses mass, pulsates, and…
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Huge Red Giant Star Has New Companion: Could It Be a Bad Neighbor for Earth?
A New Twist in the Life of a Red Giant Astronomers have identified a close stellar companion orbiting an aging red giant, a finding that could upend long-standing assumptions about how these massive stars evolve and how they influence their surroundings. While red giants are already among the most dramatic phases of a star’s life,…
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Huge Red Giant Star Finds New Companion: A Potentially Bad Neighbor for Earth
Introduction: A surprising partnership in the cosmos Astronomers have identified a surprising pairing: a aging red giant star with a closely orbiting stellar companion. This discovery matters not just as a curiosity of stellar dynamics, but as a window into the complex processes that govern red giants as they shed mass, burn their nuclear fuel,…
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Betelgeuse’s Hidden Partner Is Not What We Expected: A Sun-Like Young Star
Unexpected Finding: A Sun-Like Companion in Betelgeuse’s Orbit For decades, Betelgeuse has been a cosmic puzzle: a red supergiant blazing at the edge of its life, with rumors of a binary partner shaping its erratic brightness. When astronomers planned a December 2024 window to glimpse a possible companion, they anticipated a compact, exotic object such…
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Betelgeuse Companion Revealed: A Surprising Find in Orion
The Big Reveal: A Hidden Partner in Betelgeuse’s Tale The star Betelgeuse, one of the most famous and enigmatic celestial bodies in our night sky, has long invited speculation about its companions. After a concerted campaign of observations last December, scientists announced a surprising result: Betelgeuse’s binary partner is likely not a dense remnant like…
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Betelgeuse’s Hidden Partner Is Not What We Expected: A Young Sun-Like Star Revealed
Introduction: A New Clue in Betelgeuse’s Mysterious Past Betelgeuse, the brilliant red supergiant dominating Orion’s shoulders, has long challenged astronomers with its erratic brightness and puzzling life stage. In a striking twist, recent observations using X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory have revealed that its binary companion is not the exotic object some expected.…
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Betelgeuse’s Secret Companion Revealed: Betelbuddy Confirmed
Introduction: A Debut Night in the Cosmos Betelgeuse, the brilliant red supergiant marking Orion’s shoulder, has long captured the imagination of stargazers and scientists alike. For decades, hints of a hidden partner have tantalized researchers, inviting questions about how such a massive star could live in relative solitude. This year, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University…