A team of scientists has succeeded in observing for the first time a star which "pulses" only on one side, that is to say that its heart beats only on one side. It is a publication of the journal Nature Astronomy , this Monday, which revealed this discovery, reports Numerama .
A star that pulsates from one side only observed for the first time! https://t.co/1z7Fl9QCsB pic.twitter.com/BJn69EmQav
- HIS EXPERT CONSULT (@Saexpertconsult) March 10, 2020If researchers had known for 40 years that this type of object existed, they had so far never managed to observe it. This is now done with this star named HD 74423. The pulsation of a star corresponds to periodic variations in their volume, which result in fluctuations in their brightness. If the fluctuations can normally be observed from all sides, those of HD74423 are only visible on one side.
"Unique to date"
"The pulse mode of HD 74423 is unique to date, but there must be a similar category of stars [...]", detailed the scientists behind this discovery. "This discovery is an impetus to seek more," they added. This star is 1,500 light years from Earth, in the Milky Way, and it is 1.7 times more massive than the Sun.
"What produces these pulsations is the red dwarf who is on his right in the image," decrypts Anthony Salsi, astrophysicist at the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur on LCI . “The latter takes two days to circle the central star. It's extremely fast. When it approaches it, it exerts a very powerful gravitational force, which has the effect of attracting part of the surface of its Sun, causing this distortion effect periodically. Now researchers are trying to find other stars that only pulse on one side.
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