Red dwarfs

Artist's impression of the exoplanet that was discovered orbiting two stars. The planet was initially detected using a technique that measures its effect on spacetime, and then confirmed using the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)

Light-bending planet found orbiting two stars

Astronomers have been able to discover an exoplanet orbiting two suns by observing how its mass warps spacetime.

This artist’s impression shows the strange object AR Scorpii. In this unique double star a rapidly spinning white dwarf star (right) powers electrons up to almost the speed of light. These high energy particles release blasts of radiation that lash the companion red dwarf star (left) and cause the entire system to pulse dramatically every 1.97 minutes with radiation ranging from the ultraviolet to radio.

White dwarf blasts companion with radiation

A new type of binary star system has been observed in which a white dwarf blasts its red dwarf companion with radiation, yet the source of the radiation remains unclear.

Artist's impression of fred Dwarf TVLM 513-46546 and magnetic field Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; Dana Berry / SkyWorks

Small red dwarf rivals our own Sun

Observations of a cool, red dwarf star that is producing an intensely powerful magnetic field could have major implications for the search for habitable planets outside our Solar System.