Scorpion AR is represented by a rapidly rotating white dwarf in contact with a neighbor
Scientists have closely followed the Scorpion AR binary system and noticed that it has changed its brightness over the past decades. The system includes a magnetized and rapidly rotating white dwarf that mysteriously contacts with its neighbor. Recently noted a twofold brightness and lasting changes.
The data was taken from observations of the K2 mission for 2014. Then they were compared with the archives for 2004 to track long-term changes in the light curve. This curve is unique in that it shows a burst of rays every 2 minutes, as well as a large variety of brightness over the 3.5-hour orbital period of the system. They do not yet know the exact time scale of these changes: from 20-200 years. The white dwarf represents the dense star remnant of a dead sun star. The size covers the Earth, but 300,000 times more massive. A teaspoon weighs 15 tons.
The system became known in 2016, when scientists realized that we had a binary object. The dwarf rotates too fast, causing bursts every 2 minutes. For 12 years, peak brightness appeared later than usual.
