Technologies

Rare binary star, spotted for the first time, answers a long-standing question

This breakthrough could fill a gap in the stellar evolutionary timeline.

The universe is a star museum. Up close, we have our beloved sun in its middle age. Farther out, we’ll find white dwarfs nearing the end of their days. Peer deeper, and you’ll stumble upon hyper-dense neutron stars on the brink of turning into black holes. Now, for the first time, scientists have uncovered a star exhibit that, for years, has only been a hypothesis.

Technically, the team’s discovery is of a binary star system, or one star orbiting another. In this case, the smaller companion is eating the larger star, and very soon, the sparkly orb being chomped on will become a rare form of white dwarf, or late-stage star, called an extremely low mass, or ELM, white dwarf.

They’ve published a paper explaining their findings in this month’s issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Though fascinating in itself, the sighting of the deteriorating binary star could also fill an empty slot in a long-standing cosmic puzzle.

«This is exciting; it’s a missing evolutionary link in binary star formation models that we’ve been looking for,» Kareem El-Badry, lead author of the paper and a researcher from the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said in a statement.

Zooming out from the binary star itself, El-Badry’s discovery fills a gap in our knowledge of how ELM white dwarfs are generated in the first place. We know ELM white dwarfs exist, as scientists have already pinpointed them, but these stellar bodies pose a conundrum.

According to astronomical calculations, experts say, for a star to naturally reach the mass of an ELM white dwarf, it would need to have been born over 13.8 billion years ago. The issue is, the universe itself is only 13.8 billion years old — so that doesn’t really make sense with what we know about the cosmos so far.

Therefore, the only way these stars could possibly be formed within the universe’s timeline is if an external force created them. That force, theorists say, could be the gravitational pull of a companion in a binary star system that’s pulling matter away from the other until the latter object becomes an ELM white dwarf. Seems intuitive, but for a long time, that was just a hypothesis.

Scientists have come upon binary star systems called cataclysmic variables where regular, massive stars are being consumed by a companion star. They’ve even recorded ELM white dwarfs with companions no longer consuming them. It’s easy to extrapolate that an intermediate step would involve an almost-ELM white dwarf with a companion star eating away at it, but no one had seen such a sight.

Thanks to El-Badry’s revelatory documentation, the transitional step appears to be proven at last.

Star hunting

El-Badry used a wide array of star data, several astronomical surveys and his own firsthand observations with the Shane Telescope at the Lick Observatory in California to locate the unique binary star. He’d come up with 50 potential candidates of transitional ELM white dwarfs and ultimately zeroed in on 21 options.

«100 percent of the candidates were these pre-ELMs we’d been looking for,» he explained in the statement. «They were more puffed up and bloated than ELMs. They also were egg-shaped because the gravitational pull of the other star distorts their spherical shape.»

Aptly, he compares the importance of this breakthrough to biological studies of organisms. «You go out into the jungle and find an organism. You describe how big it is, how much it weighs — and then you go on to some other organism,» he said. «You see all these different types of objects and need to piece together how they are all connected.»

Like the ever-advancing tree of life, El-Badry’s new evidence of ELM white dwarfs helps to unveil the entirety of our cosmic star gallery. «We found the evolutionary link between two classes of binary stars — cataclysmic variables and ELM white dwarfs — and we found a decent number of them,» he said.

Next, he hopes to delve into the other 29 pre-ELM white dwarf star candidates to enrich the universe’s star museum even further.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 30, #903

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 30, #903.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has one of those purple categories where you need to look inside of the words for hidden words that relate to each other. If you need help sorting them into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Put up with.

Green group hint: Bad ending.

Blue group hint: Yo-ho-ho!

Purple group hint: Think rainbow.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tolerate.

Green group: Flop.

Blue group: Fictional pirates.

Purple group: Ending in color homophones.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tolerate. The four answers are bear, stand, stomach and swallow.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is flop. The four answers are bust, lemon, miss and turkey.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is fictional pirates. The four answers are Hook, Luffy, Silver and Sparrow.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending in color homophones. The four answers are Cameroon (maroon), cockatiel (teal), unread (red) and whistleblew (blue).

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Nov. 30, #1625

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Nov. 30, No. 1,625.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel and one sometimes vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with M.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with Y.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to weather that is unpleasantly warm and humid.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is MUGGY.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Nov. 29, No. 1624 was GRUFF.

Recent Wordle answers

Nov. 25, No. 1620: PLEAD

Nov. 26, No. 1621: HOVEL

Nov. 27, No. 1622: REMIT

Nov. 28, No. 1623: COLIC

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Technologies

Anker’s Best MagSafe Car Charger Is Still $27 Off Before Cyber Monday Even Starts

Get wired-like charging speeds and MagSafe compatibility with Anker’s newest wireless car charging bundle, currently just $63.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best shopping days of the year. You can find huge discounts on big ticket items like TVs and laptops. But it’s also a great time of year to snap up essential tech, like the kind designed to make life a little easier. This Anker MagSafe wireless car charging bundle is currently 30% off at Amazon, which means it’s down to just $63. That saves you $27 on a handy device you’ll use every day.

The Anker MagSafe wireless car charging gives your iPhone a fast and steady way to power up while you navigate. It delivers up to 25-watt wireless charging speeds and with onboard active cooling, your phone stays comfortable to the touch.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

What sets this charger apart is that its performance and cooling tech is built into a surprisingly compact package. The stand uses an ultra-strong Qi2 magnetic lock to keep your phone secure through bumps and turns. You can even tilt the mount and switch between portrait and landscape modes for navigation without blocking the view. The bundle has everything you need to get started including a 60-watt dual-USB-C charger, an adequately long USB-C cable, and cable organizers for a clean setup. Anker also includes a two-year warranty for peace of mind.

If you are getting your car prepped up for driving to a holiday vacation or just need a faster charging mount for your daily commute, this deal makes a lot of sense. CNET’s experts are also tracking more Black Friday and Cyber Monday picks across Apple products, headphones, and more, so you can score more savings before the sales season wraps up. We’ve also got a list of our favorite Anker products currently on sale.

Why this deal matters

A high-quality charger is a great addition to any car, allowing you to quickly top up your phone on the go. You will especially want to look out for options from a top-tier brand like Anker for its fast charging speeds and reliability. This Black Friday deal is an excellent opportunity to save big on a staple car accessory. With holiday shopping heating up and tech accessories being one of the most popular categories, we expect the deal to sell out quick. So don’t wait too long before jumping on it.

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