A white dwarf acts as a lens that lets the light of the star behind it pass through.
NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
The mystery of a star that seemed too small to exist has been solved with the detection of another star hiding in the same system.
In 2019, astronomers announced the discovery of a rare star system called KIC 8145411. In this system, white dwarfs (the dull, compact remnants left behind after certain stars run out of nuclear fuel) orbit a Sun-like star every 450 days. This system is a rare example of a self-lensing binary.
Source: www.newscientist.com
