White dwarf
This Ancient Supernova Remnant Looks Like a Stellar Dandelion
In 1181, Japanese and Chinese astronomers saw a bright light appear in the constellation Cassiopeia. It shone for six months,…
Ancient People Saw a Kilonova Light up the Sky
What happens when aging white dwarf stars come together? Observers in feudal Japan in the year 1181 had a front-row…
White Dwarfs are Often Polluted With Heavier Elements. Now We Know Why
When stars exhaust their hydrogen fuel at the end of their main sequence phase, they undergo core collapse and shed…
What Happens to Solar Systems When Stars Become White Dwarfs?
In a couple billion years, our Sun will be unrecognizable. It will swell up and become a red giant, then…
This Supernova Lit Up the Sky in 1181. Here’s What it Looks Like Now
Historical astronomical records from China and Japan recorded a supernova explosion in the year 1181. It was in the constellation…
White Dwarfs Might Be Less Dead Than We Thought
The standard theory says that white dwarfs are the dead cores of main sequence stars. They're out of fuel and…
Astronomers Can See the Impact Site Where an Asteroid Crashed Into a White Dwarf
When a star like the Sun reaches the end of its life, it becomes a red giant and blows away…
Webb Directly Images Two Planets Orbiting White Dwarfs
In several billion years, our Sun will become a white dwarf. What will happen to Jupiter and Saturn when the…
White Dwarfs Could Support Life. So Where are All Their Planets?
Astronomers have found plenty of white dwarf stars surrounded by debris disks. Those disks are the remains of planets destroyed…
JWST Looks at the Debris Disc Around a White Dwarf
White dwarfs are the ultimate fate of stars like our Sun, and one of the most exciting examples is located…