(ORDO NEWS) — In 2020, astronomers found a “one-sided pulsator” in the Milky Way. The existence of a star was theoretically proven 40 years ago in 1980.
The star, named HD74423 with a mass of 1.7 times the Sun, is located at a distance of 1500 light-years from Earth.
This is the first celestial body that oscillates preferably over one hemisphere, and not over the entire surface, like other pulsating objects known to science.
To confirm the discovery, it took two independent observations from observatories located in opposite parts of the Earth.
The cause of one-way pulsations is a red dwarf, a neighbor of the discovered star in a binary system. The companion’s gravitational field distorts the oscillations of the pulsar, drawing some of them onto itself.
“The chemistry of the star is unique,” say Dr. Simon Murphy from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Sydney, “there are practically no metals among the elements, while in other hot stars the amount of metals is huge.”
Technology for listening to pulsar beats is gradually improving, so astronomers are ready to detect “one-way pulsators” in the near future.
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