Astronomers discover a unique white dwarf that continues to eject matter in a mysterious way

Some celestial objects sometimes hold surprises for astronomers. This is the case with this white dwarf, which still emits jets of matter. And that's not all, because its situation seems completely different from other white dwarfs.

Indeed, RXJ0528+2838 is a white dwarf located approximately 730 light-years from our solar system. It is part of a binary system with another star similar to the Sun and is the source of these unexplained jets of matter.

It must be said that white dwarfs are known to have strong gravity, which allows them to aspirate the material from their companion star. This forms an accretion disk that then generates powerful jets. However, no accretion disk has been detected around this white dwarf. And Simone Scaring, associate professor at Durham University in the United Kingdom, explains: 

"We found something never seen before and, more importantly, entirely unexpected. The surprise that a supposedly quiet, discless system could drive such a spectacular nebula was one of those rare ‘wow’ moments."

Nevertheless, while no conclusions have yet been put forward, certain hypotheses have been suggested by astronomers. Indeed, observations made by the Muse (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) of the Very Large Telescope suggest that the magnetic field of this white dwarf is responsible for these jets of matter. But the mystery remains unsolved, because these jets have been occurring for 1,000 years, and no one knows where this energy comes from.