Dead star RXJ0528+2838 produces a shock wave that shouldn't exist

Astronomers using ESO's VLT spotted a bow shock around the white dwarf RXJ0528+2838, about 730 light-years away, that known mechanisms cannot explain: the system has no accretion disc, and its magnetic field could sustain the structure for only a few hundred years, while it appears to be at least 1000 years old.

• White dwarf RXJ0528+2838 lies about 730 light-years from Earth
• The bow shock has persisted for at least 1000 years
• The system shows no accretion disc, the usual source of outflows
• Its magnetic field can account for only a few hundred years