10-24-2016, 06:00 PM
"Heartbeat Stars"
Observations using a high-resolution spectrometer called HIRES at the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea have investigated a newly discovered type of stellar system; ones in which two stars orbit each other so closely that they actually stretch out each star into ellipsoids from their normal spherical shape. Because their orbits are elliptical (as are most orbiting systems in the universe) and the activity and brightness of each star change depending on the distance between them, they've been described as being analogous to a cardiogram.
More at http://phys.org/news/2016-10-heartbeat-stars.html
Observations using a high-resolution spectrometer called HIRES at the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea have investigated a newly discovered type of stellar system; ones in which two stars orbit each other so closely that they actually stretch out each star into ellipsoids from their normal spherical shape. Because their orbits are elliptical (as are most orbiting systems in the universe) and the activity and brightness of each star change depending on the distance between them, they've been described as being analogous to a cardiogram.
More at http://phys.org/news/2016-10-heartbeat-stars.html