New type of pulsating white dwarf star discovered

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The image shows the changes in light output over time of the first-discovered pulsating carbon white dwarf star. Credit: K. Williams T. Jones McDonald Obs
The image shows the changes in light output over time of the first-discovered pulsating carbon white dwarf star. Credit: K. Williams/ T. Jones/ McDonald Obs

University of Texas at Austin astronomers Michael H. Montgomery and Kurtis A. Williams, along with graduate student Steven DeGennaro, have predicted and confirmed the existence of a new type of variable star, with the help of the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory. The discovery is announced in today's issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.


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