Science

A dead star is flashing radio waves every 8 minutes, and its partner looks a lot like the sun

Read full article at source ↗

Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 14/11/2026, 21:10:24 UTC.

Briefings

Astronomers have identified a new class of cosmic objects emitting radio flashes every few minutes to hours, originating from binary systems where a red dwarf orbits a white dwarf. This discovery, confirmed since 2022, represents a significant shift in understanding stellar evolution and gravitational interactions in compact binaries.

Key points

• Long-period radio transients emit bright radio flashes every few minutes to every few hours.
• These transients are traced to binary systems with a red dwarf star orbiting a white dwarf remnant.

Context

This finding expands the known population of transient sources, challenging previous models of stellar evolution and gravitational interactions in compact binaries.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to observations since 2022; specific dates for the discovery are not provided, and the exact mechanism triggering the flashes remains unexplained.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 14/11/2026, 21:18:49 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

View archived briefing on IPFS
bafybeidhirxoll5epmzdnxhrrpp4b7xw7vogzhnh5g3bdinwkiaywzp32u