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Astronomy

Mass Transfer Mechanisms in Cataclysmic Variable Stars

Quick fact

In a cataclysmic variable, the white dwarf pulls gas from its companion, and this gas spirals into a disk so hot that it can double the system's brightness in just a day.

Why this is interesting

You've probably seen a star that suddenly brightens and then fades—some of these are not single stars at all, but pairs locked in a gravitational tango. What makes them flare so violently?