However, Bloot’s team proposes the object is a white dwarf, noting ultraviolet signals matching the profile of a white dwarf with 78% the mass of the Sun and temperatures between 15,000 to 33,000 Kelvin. This would make it a white dwarf pulsar — a theoretically possible but rarely observed object.
More details on neutron stars and white dwarfs
What’s Next?
Whether it’s a neutron star or a white dwarf, CHIME J1634+44 is rewriting the astrophysics playbook. More observations will be required to pinpoint its true nature, but one thing is certain — the Blinking Unicorn is an astrophysical enigma.
“We have a real mystery on our hands,” one astronomer told ExtremeTech.
With its extreme polarization, dual periodicities, and accelerating spin, this stellar oddity might hold the key to understanding how compact stars behave—and how many more Blinking Unicorns are hiding in the cosmos.
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