Astronomers catch a white dwarf turning itself on and off for the first time
Astronomers catch a white dwarf turning itself on and off for the first time A rotating magnetic field could be causing this novel phenomenon When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. White dwarfs are among the most studied and understood celestial objects in the universe, but they are still capable of surprising us when we least expect it. Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) were studying a white dwarf in a binary star system when they suddenly caught it turning itself “on and off” over the course of as few as 30 minutes....