Astronomers have identified a rare stellar pair as the origin of long-period radio transients, mysterious repeating signals detected in the Milky Way. The system features a white dwarf drawing material from a red dwarf companion.
An international team led by researchers at the University of Sydney made the discovery with CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope. The system, named ASKAP J1745−5051, produces radio waves and X-rays that repeat every 1.4 hours as the stars orbit each other. Lead author Kovi Rose said the findings confirm the source as a cataclysmic variable, or accreting white dwarf star.