So when astronomers detected shock waves emanating from a dead stellar object 730 light-years from Earth, they were understandably perplexed. An unexpected shock waveIn such cases, material from the active star is usually siphoned to the white dwarf to form a disk of debris around it. But RXJ0528+2838 doesn’t feature a disk, so the dead star shouldn’t create such a curved, “bow shock” outflow or its resultant nebula—yet it does. “Our observations reveal a powerful outflow that, according to our current understanding, shouldn’t be there.” added Krystian Iłkiewicz, a study co-author at Poland’s Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center. Importantly, the magnetic field Scaringi calls the white dwarf’s “mystery engine” doesn’t seem strong enough to generate the observed bow shock.