"Unveiling the Bizarre Diet of the Zombie Star"

Astronomers have finally unraveled the mysterious behavior of pulsar PSR J1023+0038, a millisecond pulsar in a close binary system with another star. The pulsar switches between intensely bright "high mode" and dimmer "low mode" as it strips material from its companion star. The material forms an accretion disk around the pulsar, and when a large amount of material spirals closer to the pulsar, it collides with the pulsar's powerful winds, heating up and pushing the material outward. This results in explosive flashes of X-rays, ultraviolet, and visible light during high mode. After the material is blown off, the emissions plummet, and the pulsar enters low mode. Observing PSR J1023 required multiple telescopes, and further research is needed to understand the similarities between transitional millisecond pulsars and black holes.