Science & Tech · Space · 1 day ago
Star slowly pulls material from a brown dwarf companion
A star system called ZTF J0440+2325 lies about 300 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way.
Astronomers found that a low-mass star in the system is gradually pulling material from a nearby brown dwarf.
A brown dwarf is more massive than a typical planet but not massive enough to sustain the hydrogen fusion that powers ordinary stars.
Stars that pull in close companions are usually seen swallowing them quickly, while most planets stay in stable orbits.
This system appears to show a slower process, and it is the first observed example of a low-mass star steadily drawing material from another low-mass object.
The transfer could continue for hundreds of thousands of years or potentially billions of years.
Astronomers first noticed the system through an unusual repeating pattern in observations from a sky survey that tracks changes in brightness.
Astronomers identified a star system about 300 light-years from Earth where a low-mass star is gradually drawing material from a brown dwarf.
The system, designated ZTF J0440+2325, is the first observed example of a low-mass star steadily drawing material from another low-mass object.
The material transfer may continue for hundreds of thousands of years and potentially billions of years.
The finding was reported in a study published in Nature Astronomy.
- Who
- An international team led by scientists at MIT identified the system.
- What
- A low-mass star is gradually pulling material from a brown dwarf companion.
- When
- The study was published October 5; the year is not stated in the article text.
- Where
- ZTF J0440+2325 is in the Milky Way, about 300 light-years from Earth.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Instead of swallowing the thing up, the star can gradually eat it, for billions of years.
I remember first looking at this and thinking, stars don't make triangular waveforms like this.
Kevin Burdge noticed a repeating triangular brightness pattern in observations collected by the Zwicky Transient Facility.
The study describing the system was published in Nature Astronomy.
- System
- ZTF J0440+2325
- Distance from Earth
- Approximately 300 light-years
- Location
- Milky Way galaxy
- Study publication
- Nature Astronomy, October 5
- Possible duration of material transfer
- Hundreds of thousands of years, potentially billions of years
Sources
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