Strobe-like Flashes Discovered in a Suspected Binary Protostar
LRLL 54361 was discovered by the Spitzer Space Telescope as a variable object inside the star-forming region IC 348, located 950 light-years away. The infrared spectrum as measured by Spitzer has the typical signature of a protostar. These stars are estimated to be no more than a few hundred thousand years old, based on statistical analysis. The Spitzer infrared data, taken repeatedly over a period of seven years, showed unusual outbursts in the brightness of the star. Surprisingly, the outbursts recurred every 25.34 days, a very rare phenomenon. Further analysis of the data led the authors to propose the pulsed-accretion model. Read more
Two of NASA's great observatories, the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, have teamed up to uncover a mysterious infant star that behaves like a strobe light. Every 25.34 days, the object, designated LRLL 54361, unleashes a burst of light. Although a similar phenomenon has been observed in two other young stellar objects, this is the most powerful such beacon seen to date. Read more