Stunned astronomers have discovered a zombie star relatively near Earth that is inexplicably emitting a persistent, rainbow-like shock wave as it speeds through the Milky Way. The undead stellar remnant, which is currently devouring its companion star, has left researchers scratching their heads.
Every star in the Milky Way is constantly spinning around the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy, dubbed Sagittarius A*. Most of these stars, including the sun, are preceded by a bow shock, which pushes material around the star, similar to the waves generated around the bow of a ship as it moves through the water. These bow shocks are created by outflowing gas and dust from the star, which collides with and pushes against the interstellar medium — the leftover matter and radiation that exists in the gaps between stars.
