Tag: binary star
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Astronomers Detect Celestial Wake from Betelgeuse’s Companion Star
New Insights from a Stellar Mystery Astronomers have long studied Betelgeuse, the iconic red supergiant in Orion, to understand the late stages of massive star evolution. In a surprising twist, recent multi-year observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, alongside ground-based telescopes at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, reveal…
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Hidden companion around Betelgeuse revealed by Hubble’s light wake
Hubble’s wake reveals a hidden companion around Betelgeuse Astronomers have long been fascinated by Betelgeuse, the red supergiant that anchors Orion’s familiar winter sky. While its bright red glow makes it one of the best-studied stars in the galaxy, new Hubble Space Telescope observations hint that Betelgeuse may have a hidden companion star stirring its…
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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…