{
  "id": 19840835,
  "title": "Astronomers trace mystery radio signals back to cosmic odd couple of white dwarf and sun-like star",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/astronomers-trace-mystery-radio-signals-back-to-cosmic-odd-couple-of",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-13T17:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Space.com",
    "slug": "space-com",
    "url": "https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/astronomers-trace-mystery-radio-signals-back-to-cosmic-odd-couple-of-white-dwarf-and-sun-like-star"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Astronomers have identified a cosmic odd couple consisting of a white dwarf star and a sun-like star that emit mysterious radio signals. The white dwarf, named GPM J071507−114153, orbits a companion star located around 5,000 light-years away. The white dwarf spins once every eight minutes, emitting radio pulses that have been detected in binary systems with smaller and cooler red dwarf stars, but rarely in systems like GPM J071507−114153. These radio pulses are produced by long-period transients (LPTs), which switch on and off over intervals of minutes or hours. GPM J071507−114153 is part of this class of celestial objects. The radio pulses observed by the team are clear enough to show that the white dwarf's movements are close to its companion star. The team was able to detect stellar flares from the sun-like star as well as the white dwarf moving behind a region with a strong magnetic field, most likely a stellar prominence. The discovery was made using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Australia, and confirmed with the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa and the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. This finding could be a significant step in understanding the nature of LPTs, as the unusual system allows scientists to see the white dwarf's movement in its orbit around its companion.",
  "summary": "\"It’s amazing that by using radio wavelengths, we can detect the storms on a star over 5,000 light-years away.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}