Hidden red dwarf discovered in dust of giant star | University of Hertfordshire
http://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/news/2017/july/hidden-red-dwarf-discovered-in-dust-of-giant-star
Observations of the brightest star in the infrared sky by a team of astronomers, including researchers
from the University of Hertfordshire, have revealed that the dust surrounding it hides a small red dwarf star.
CW Leonis, a red giant star 500 times the size of the Sun is located in the Leo constellation 300 light years away.
This is an evolving star that is ejecting significant amounts of dust forming an enveloping cloud many times the size
of our solar system. It has been the subject of hundreds of studies over the years, but only now has the existence
of a smaller red dwarf star been found within the dust cloud.
From 1994 to 2000, using a one meter telescope at the Observatory of Torino, Professor Richard Smart at the University
of Hertfordshire observed a minute wobble in the motion of CW Leonis that defied explanation. This wobble was very small -
equivalent to the side of a 10p coin on the Moon as seen from the Earth - but it was detectable.
A recent study of the dust around CW Leonis revealed a swirl pattern that was hypothesised to be due to the presence of
an unseen companion star. Introducing the companion resolved the 17-year-old mystery of the wobble. The research has
been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).