--- title: "Scientists Discover “Peculiar” Teardrop-Shaped Star" description: "A team of astronomers have discovered a strange star that oscillates only on one side, causing it to be distorted into a teardrop shape." date: "2020-03-10" modified: "2020-03-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/scientists-peculiar-teardrop-shaped-star" categories: - "Space" tags: - "binary star system" - "red dwarf" - "star" --- # Scientists Discover “Peculiar” Teardrop-Shaped Star ![A team of astronomers have discovered a strange star that oscillates only on one side, causing it to be distorted into a teardrop shape.]() *\Image: Gabriel Pérez Díaz/IAC\* A team of astronomers have discovered a strange star that oscillates in a rhythmic pattern — but only on one side, causing gravitational forces to distort it into a teardrop shape. "We’ve known theoretically that stars like this should exist since the 1980s," said professor Don Kurtz from the University of Central Lancashire and co-author of the paper published in *Nature Astronomy* on Monday, in [a statement](). "I’ve been looking for a star like this for nearly 40 years and now we have finally found one." The star, known as HD74423, is about 1.7 times the mass of the Sun and was spotted around 1,500 light years from Earth — still within the confines of the Milky Way — using public data from NASA's planet-hunting TESS satellite. “What first caught my attention was the fact it was a chemically peculiar star," said co-author Simon Murphy from the Sydney Institute for Astronomy at the University of Sydney in the statement. "Stars like this are usually fairly rich with metals – but this is metal poor, making it a rare type of hot star." Stars have been found to oscillate at different rhythms and to different degrees — including our own Sun. Astronomers suspect they're caused by [convection and magnetic field forces]() inside the star. While the exact causes of these pulsations vary, these oscillations have usually been observed on all sides of the star. HD74423, however, was found to pulsate on only one side because of its red dwarf companion with which it makes up a binary star system. They were found to do such a close dance — an orbital period of just two days — that the larger star is being distorted into a teardrop shape. The astronomers suspect it won't be the last of its kind to be discovered. "We expect to find many more hidden in the TESS data," said co-author Saul Rappaport, a professor at MIT. **READ MORE:** [ Astronomers Have Found a Peculiar New Type of Star That Only Pulses on One Side]() \[*Science Alert*\] **More on strange space stuff:** *[New Theory Could Explain Exoplanets With “Density of Cotton Candy”]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()