NASA’s Fermi Finds Record-breaking Binary Star

Using data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and other facilities, scientists have found the first gamma-ray binary in another galaxy and the most luminous one ever seen. The dual-star system, dubbed LMC P3, contains a massive star and a crushed stellar core that interact to produce a cyclic flood of gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. Gamma-ray binaries are rare -- only six are known in our own galaxy, and one remains undetected by Fermi. The systems are prized because their gamma-ray