About half the stars in the Milky Way are solitary, just like our Sun. The other half revolves around the others
This system is part of a rare class of binarysystems known as cataclysmic variables. In them, a single star similar to the Sun orbits a white dwarf—the hot, dense core of a dead star.
Decades ago, astronomers predicted that thesethe cataclysmic variables must shift and move closer and closer to each other until they form incredibly tight orbits. In new observations, scientists have found direct evidence of a cataclysmic variable in this transition phase.
They are called this because of what they emit.variable flashes of light that astronomers believed centuries ago were due to unknown cataclysms or “catastrophes” in space. In fact, outbursts occur because the white dwarf slowly accretes or consumes material from its partner star.
A newly discovered system called ZTFJ1813+4251 has the shortest orbit among cataclysmic systems to date. Astronomers discovered it because each star momentarily eclipsed the other. This allowed scientists to take precise measurements of each of them and run simulations to see how the system would evolve over millions of years.
Simulations showed that the stars arein the transition period and that the sun-like star “donated” most of its hydrogen atmosphere to the white dwarf. In about 70 million years, the stars will move even closer together. In the near future they will likely have an 18-minute orbit. After this, they will eventually expand and disperse.
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