  CU Virginis is one of the brightest radio emitting members of the magnetic
chemically peculiar (MCP) stars and also one of the fastest rotating. We have
now discovered that CU Vir is unique among stellar radio sources in generating
a persistent, highly collimated, beam of coherent, 100% polarised, radiation
from one of its magnetic poles that sweeps across the Earth every time the star
rotates. This makes the star strikingly similar to a pulsar. This similarity is
further strengthened by the observation that the rotating period of the star is
lengthening at a phenomenal rate (significantly faster than any other
astrophysical source - including pulsars) due to a braking mechanism related to
its very strong magnetic field.
