ScienceDaily: Space & Time News


Astronomers discover a rare 'black widow' binary, with the shortest orbit yet

Posted: 04 May 2022 08:04 AM PDT

Astronomers discovered a 'black widow binary' -- a rapidly spinning neutron star circling and slowly consuming a smaller companion star. Named ZTF J1406+1222, the pair has the shortest orbital period yet identified, and is unique in that it appears to host a third star that orbits around the two inner stars every 10,000 years.