AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Polaris, the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation, has shown changes in its pulsation period that astronomers attribute to its binary nature. Polaris is a classic cepheid variable, pulsating regularly, and for most of the 20th century, its pulsation period increased while the amplitude decreased. However, recent observations indicate a reversal in this trend, with the pulsation period getting shorter and the amplitude stabilizing. Astronomer Guillermo Torres suggests that these changes are a result of the binary system dynamics, where the two stars interact and influence each other's atmospheres. Understanding Polaris's pulsation behavior remains a topic of ongoing research.