White Dwarf Whipping Radiation, Produces Lighthouse Effect On Fellow Stars

A white dwarf star was found by researchers from the University of Warwick. The newly discovered star was seen whipping powerful beam of particles over its nearby stars.

Researchers found a unique burnt out star, which they referred to as the white dwarf. It was the astronomy researchers from Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom who came across the rare white dwarf.

Professionals and astronomers alike from the University of Warwick used complex telescopes from the ground and space to reveal the star's system. Through the device, they were able to witness the powerful radiation, which caused the star to pulse across an entire electromagnetic spectrum.

The white dwarf's magnetic and spinning period lasted for two minutes. The Ar Scorpii produces a lighthouse effect of radiation beams that whips across a red dwarf and entire system that occurs over a period of two minutes, UPI reported.

The radiation emitted from the white dwarf releases electrons that move at a speed similar to the speed of light. The accelerated electrons causes the rapid spinning magnetic field of the white dwarf. However, the main location of the electrons are found within the cool star's vicinity.

Professor Boris Gänsicke from the University of Warwick and co-author of the study said that the discovery of the unique white dwarf is amazing. He said that pulsating neutron stars have been studied for over 50 years and some astronomers believe that the white dwarf possess similar properties.

The white dwarf found in AR Scorpii is said to be in almost the same size of the Earth, but more massive. It orbits with another star that is one third the size of the Sun, GizMag reported.

Professor Tom Marsh from the University of Warwick's Astrophysics department, on the other hand, said that the AR Scorpii was discovered 40 years ago, but its nature was observed just May of this year. The observation of the white dwarf used a high speed camera known as the ULTRACAM found on the William Herschel Telescope.

The white dwarf's observations were carried out on the William Herschel and Issac Newton Telescopes located on the Spanish island of La Palma, Canaries, the European Southern Observatory's Large Telescope in Chile, Australia Telescope Compact Array, Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's Swift Satellite.