“We found something never seen before” – A dead star is producing a shock wave that shouldn’t exist

A dead white dwarf with no detectable disk has somehow produced a powerful shock wave that appears to have persisted for at least 1,000 years. Its magnetic field may be partly responsible, but astronomers say an unexplained “mystery engine” may also be at work. “We found something never seen before” – A dead star is producing a shock wave that shouldn’t exist.

When a star moves through space, it can push away nearby material, creating a so-called bow shock, which in this image is glowing in red, green, and blue. The colors represent hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, respectively. These shocks are usually produced by a strong outflow expelled from the star.

In the case of RXJ0528+2838 –– a white dwarf with a Sun-like companion –– astronomers discovered that the shock wave can’t be explained by any known mechanism. Some hidden energy source, perhaps magnetic fields, could be the answer to this mystery. Background: PanSTARRS Stars can produce powerful shock waves when gas and dust streaming away from them collide with material in the surrounding space.