A planet was discovered orbiting a triple star system, and now, astronomers have found two stars with the shortest orbit yet. This stellar binary, called ZTF J1813+4251, circle each other every 51 minutes, and classified as a rare class of binaries known as a “cataclysmic variable” when a star similar to our sun orbits tightly around a white dwarf.
What is a cataclysmic variable? This phenomenon occurred when the two stars drew close, over the span of billions of years, causing the white dwarf to start accreting, or siphoning material away from its partner star. This process generates enormous, variable flashes of light that, centuries ago, astronomers assumed to be a result of some unknown cataclysm.
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This is a rare case where we caught one of these systems in the act of switching from hydrogen to helium accretion. People predicted these objects should transition to ultrashort orbits, and it was debated for a long time whether they could get short enough to emit detectable gravitational waves. This discovery puts that to rest,” said Kevin Burdge, a Pappalardo Fellow in MIT’s Department of Physics.
